LINCOLN: Pakistan colts in a hard-fought final of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup were beaten by 25 runs against Australia boys with 20 balls remaining here on Saturday.

Both teams were running to win the title for the third time in the history of Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Chasing a moderate target of 208 runs, Pakistan batsmen batted well against sea winds and accurate Aussie bowlers but could make182 runs in 46.4 overs.

Captain Azeem Ghumman was the top-scorer with 41. He batted with calm and caution hitting only one four in 90 balls.

However, Hammad Azam, the most prolific scorer who has been unbeaten throughout the tournament could not maintain his record and was dismissed for a nought, caught behind by Triffitt off Hazlewood. His early ouster made a panic in the Pakistan team’s dressing room.

Earlier, Pakistan winning the toss decided to send Kangaroos first and kept their grip tight over the match.

Sarmad Bhatti grabbed three wickets and Fayyaz Butt claimed two as the Aussies were 207-9 in 50 overs in the final counter of tournament.

Though Pakistani pacers successfully claiming wickets on regular intervals but they failed in keeping run rate down while the Aussies persistently collected ones, twos, three and certain times boundaries and out of the park.

The leading run scorers from Australian side were JS Floros (35), TJ Armstrong (37) and KW Richardson (44).