U-19 World Cup: India begin campaign with win against USA
What's the story
India started their 2026 ICC Under-19 World Cup campaign on a high note, defeating the USA by six wickets. The match, played at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, was reduced due to rain, with India's target revised to 96 runs (37 overs). India successfully chased down this target, led by an unbeaten knock from Abhigyan Kundu (42). Earlier, the USA were bowled out for 107 (35.2 overs), with Henil Patel taking a five-wicket haul.
Match details
Kundu's unbeaten knock leads India to victory
Kundu was the star of the chase, scoring an unbeaten 42 off 41 balls with 5 fours and a six. Captain Ayush Mhatre (19) and Vihaan Malhotra (18) also contributed to India's victory. However, star batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi had a quiet day as he was dismissed for just two runs by Ritvik Appidi. India were down to 25/3 in the sixth over before Kundu took charge.
Bowling
Patel's five-wicket haul dismantles USA
India earlier won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision that paid off as the USA were bowled out for a mere 107 runs. Young pacer Henil Patel led the charge with an impressive five-wicket haul. He struck early by dismissing Amrinder Gill (1). Patel then dismissed Arjun Mahesh (16), skipper Utkarsh Srivastava (0), Sabrish Prasad (7), and Rishabh Shimpi (0).
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Henil Patel, India's pick of the bowlers
Patel concluded his spell with remarkable figures of 5/16 in seven overs. Deepesh Devendran (1/19 in 6 overs), RS Ambrish (1/14 in 6 overs), Khilan Patel (1/27 in 8 overs), and Suryavanshi (1/2 in 0.2 overs) also took a wicket each.
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Nitish Sudini emerges as USA's top scorer
For the USA, Nitish Sudini was the top scorer with 36 runs from 52 balls (4 fours). Sahil Garg and Arjun Mahesh contributed with 16 runs each, while Adnit Jhamb added another 18 runs to help their team reach a modest total.
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A look at India's next opponents
After a one-sided win, India top Group A with a Net Run Rate of +3.572. They will next take on Bangladesh (January 17) and New Zealand (January 24). Three teams from each of the four groups will reach the Super 6.