Raichandani's unbeaten century completes India Under-19s' 3-0 sweep of Australia

Lakshya Raichandani carried his bat for an unbeaten 110 as India Under-19s chased down 255 with 52 balls to spare in Rajkot and completed a 3-0 Youth ODI sweep of Australia

Australia Under-19s won the toss at the Niranjan Shah Stadium and chose to bat, but were bowled out for 254 three balls short of their 50 overs on Wednesday.

India replied with 255 for 4 in 41.2 overs, their captain unbeaten at the end of an innings he had opened.

The six-wicket win completed a clean sweep of the three-match series, which India had already secured with a game in hand.

Hollick gives Australia something to defend

Zed Hollick held the innings together with 87 from 88 balls, an innings built almost entirely on placement rather than power, with 12 fours and no six.

Neel Patel batted through the middle overs for 51 from 71 balls, and Blake Cattle struck 38 from 31 at the back end.

No other Australian batter passed 30, and the innings never found the surge that a total of that shape needed on a true Rajkot surface.

Ulva and Chauhan work through the lower order

Mohit Ulva was the most effective of the India bowlers with 3-43, and Manal Chauhan took three wickets of his own as the tail was removed inside the final over.

Australia lost their last wickets in a cluster, ending the innings with three deliveries unused and a total that India's top order treated as gettable from the first ball.

Raichandani bats through the chase

Raichandani's 110 from 106 balls contained nine fours and three sixes, and he was still there when the winning runs came in the 42nd over.

Kushagra Ojha made 45 from 53 balls in support, and Rajat Baghel finished the match with an unbeaten 44 from 34, hitting five fours and two sixes.

Spencer Green was the only Australian bowler to take more than one wicket, returning 2-46 as the required rate stayed under four for almost the whole chase.

Australia's two frontline seamers went without a wicket between them, Eli Brain conceding 58 from six overs and Kasey Barton 63 from 8.2.

Three wins of three different kinds

India took the opener on 18 September by seven runs in a rain-affected match in which they posted 182 for 6, Anvay Dravid making 38 from 18 balls and Aaryavir Sehwag 28 from 26 on debut.

The second match was settled by weight of runs: Yashbardhan Chauhan made 122 from 100 balls and VK Vineeth 87 from 92 as India reached 341 for 7, then Australia were dismissed for 238 in 41.1 overs and lost by 103 runs.

Chigurupati Venkata took 3-64 in that game and Chauhan added 2-56, an all-round afternoon that sealed the series with a match to spare.

The margins widened as the series went on, from seven runs in the opener to 103 runs and then to six wickets with more than eight overs unused.

Two youth Tests to come

Raichandani, 17 and from Uttarakhand, was appointed captain for the one-day leg and will serve as vice-captain for the multi-day matches that follow.

Much of the attention on the tour has gone to two other members of the squad, Anvay Dravid and Aaryavir Sehwag, the sons of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.

"I am very excited. It's a matter of honour. It's also a huge responsibility and an added responsibility," he said before the series began, adding that he wanted to lead "by ensuring that everyone feels included".

The tour now moves to its longer format, with a four-day youth Test in Rajkot from 27 September and a second in Ahmedabad from 5 October.

Scorecard: Australia Under-19s 254 all out in 49.3 overs (Zed Hollick 87, Neel Patel 51; Mohit Ulva 3-43) lost to India Under-19s 255 for 4 in 41.2 overs (Lakshya Raichandani 110 not out, Kushagra Ojha 45; Spencer Green 2-46) by six wickets.

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