A strong all-round show by Tamil Nadu lad Baba Aparajith helped India U-19 register a comfortable six-wicket win against Australia in the four-nation Quadrungular tournament.
This is India's fourth win and second against Australia, having thrashed them by 10 wickets in the tournament opener.
Opting to bat first, Australia were all-out for 173 in 48.5 overs thanks to an incisive first spell by seamer Sandeep Sharma (4/27). Aparajith's (3/34) restrictive bowling in the middle overs pegged the Australians further back.
The Indians achieved the target in only 32.2 overs with Aparajith scoring an unbeaten 48 courtesy eight boundaries. His partnership of 82 with Akashdeep Nath (38) for the fourth wicket laid the foundation for a comfortable win.
Indian captain Unmukt Chand (6) was out early but Manan Vohra (30) and the consistent Hanuman Vihari (36) added 58 runs for the second wicket before both were out in quick succession.
Earlier, it was Punjab seamer Sandeep who picked up his second four-wicket haul in the tournament as he rocked the Aussie top-order picking three quick wickets. Then skipper Ashton Turner (38) and Kurtis Patterson (61) added 47 runs for the fourth wicket before Aparajith provided the breakthrough.
The visitors lost wickets at regular interval as they were all-out with seven balls to spare.
Brief Scores: Australia U-19: 173 in 48.5 overs (Kurtis Patterson 61, Sandeep Sharma 4/27, B Aparajith 3/34).
India U-19: 174/4 in 32.2 overs (B Aparajith 48 no, Akshdeep Nath 38).
India U-19 won by 6 wickets.
