India Under-19 defeated their Australian counterparts by four wickets in the third one-dayer in Dharamsala on Saturday.
The Australians, who won the toss and surprisingly elected to bat on the slow pitch, were bundled out for a paltry 129 in 30.3 overs.
The Indians comfortably achieved the target with 20 overs to spare to take 2-1 lead in the five-match one-day series.
Opener S Anirudh and Rohit Sharma gave India a blazing start after an early loss of A Murtaza.
Anirudh, with a quickfire 38 of 37 balls, which included five boundaries and one long hit, and Rohit Sharma (39 in 50 balls with six fours) ensured that their team did not feel any pressure of scoring at a brisk pace.
But after the duo were dismissed, the Indians stuttered a bit and lost quick wickets, as they slumped from 107 for two at one stage to 125 for six.
However, the Indians appeared to be more concerned about a rain interruption, which never occurred, than their opposition.
Earlier in the day, right-arm medium pacer V Yomahesh and left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza triggered a spectacular Australian collapse that left them with very little to defend.
The Aussies were coasting at 80 for one at one stage before Yomahesh (3-46) removed Usman Khwaja (30 with two sixes and two fours) and captain Tom Stray (33 with five fours and a six) in the 17th over.
Till then the visitors were scoring at five runs an over and Yomahesh had himself not escaped unscathed from their onslaught conceding 21 runs in his first three overs.
But a change of ends did wonders for Yomahesh as he removed the dangerous duo just when they looked like piling a big score.
The bowler looked transformed in his second spell displaying immaculate line and length and as a result his last
seven overs went for just 25 runs.
The wicket, which was slower than the one in Mohali, afforded a bit of lateral movement and the Australians, who went for their shots without judging its nature paid the penalty.
Murtaza (3-12) then got into the act and together with left-armer Shahbaz Nadeem and leg-spinner Piyush Chawla spun a web around the Aussies.
They mixed their pace intelligently and did not give the batsmen opportunities to go for the big hits. The Australian middle and lower order gave away their wickets trying to force the pace.
Even the introduction of the super-sub, Moises Henriques, could not stop the slide.
The Indian fielding, including the catching and scoring direct hits, showed visible improvement and the bowlers also, by and large, stuck to their lines and lengths, thereby suggesting that they had learnt from the loss in the previous game.
After the early finish of the Australian innings, the Indians came out to bat for just under an hour before lunch and posted 66 runs for the loss of two wickets in only 11.3 overs, closing the door on the visitors comprehensively.
They were more sedate after the break and as a result the next 65 runs required 18.3 overs. However, Piyush Chawla hit Graeme Skennar for six over long-on to conclude the match.
India skipper Ravikant Shukla expressed surprise at the Australians' decision to bat first.
"We definitely wanted to chase and the Australian decision helped our cause," Shukla said after the match.
Shukla complimented his bowlers for their improved display but felt the victory margin could have been more had the middle order not tried to rush things.
"At 80 for one, I felt we could be chasing a huge score but the bowlers responded well."
Indian coach Venkatesh Prasad was pleased with the visible improvement in the team but said batting, running between wickets and conceding extras needed to be worked upon.
"But now the boys need to enjoy this victory," he said.
Visiting coach Brian Mc Fadyen, however, defended the decision to bat first saying that the object of the exercise was to deal with different conditions.
"We want our players to be exposed to different situations and challenges as it is all part of a learning experience," McFadyen said.
McFadyen said his side was a bit "lucky" to find itself at 80 for one as the Indians did not use the conditions well in the beginning.
