U19 World Cup 2024: India’s fast bowling was slightly weak, says Aakash Chopra after loss vs Australia in final

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes India’s fast bowling was slightly weak in the Under-19 World Cup final against Australia at Benoni on Sunday. India conceded 253 runs after Australian captain Hugh Weibgen won the toss and decided to bat first.

While Raj Limbani was right on the money from the get-go, Naman Tiwari conceded 15 runs in the first over he bowled. Tiwari conceded 63 runs in the nine overs he bowled and bowled with an economy rate of seven. Lambani returned with impressive figures of 3-38 in his quota of 10 overs.

Harjas Singh, who wasn’t at his best earlier in the tournament, scored a vital knock of 55 runs to help Australia go past the 250-run mark. Furthermore, three Australian batters got past the 40-run mark.

“Our fast bowling was not that good. Raj Limbani did very well but I saw the fast bowling as slightly weak. We were slightly more focused on spin but you actually needed fast bowling on this Benoni pitch. We didn’t attack enough with fast bowling,” said Chopra on his YouTube Channel.

The reputed commentator feels India could have picked two more wickets in the Powerplay overs if the bowling had been good from the other end.

“Yes, our fast bowlers picked up wickets but you should have picked up at least three opposition wickets in the first 10 overs. Raj Limbani picked up one wicket. You should have got two more wickets if the fast bowling had been good from both ends,” Chopra added.

Meanwhile, India was bundled out for 174 runs and lost by 79 runs. Chopra reckons Indian batters had a tentative approach against short ball and it led to their downfall.

“A big learning we got was that we are slightly 50-50 against the short ball. It is down to conditioning. When we have not played or learned something from childhood, suddenly when we encounter that, we are not that ready. It makes a difference. The opposing team played four fast bowlers and all four of them were six feet tall, and they bowled bouncers regularly,” said Chopra.

This was the fourth Under-19 World Cup title for Australia.