India U-19 cricket team clinched a gritty 6- wicket win against USA U-19 to start their ICC Under 19 World Cup campaign on a victorious note. While Henil Patel wreaked havoc on the opposition with a fiery five-wicket haul, stars like Vaibhav Suryavanshi and captain Ayush Mhatre failed to deliver on the expectations as India suffered an early scare in the run-chase. IND U-19 managed to restrict USA to 108 runs, but suffered several setbacks in their run-chase, firstly due to rain and next, due to their top-order collapsing.
Mhatre, Suryavanshi flop
Vaibhav was the first Indian batter to depart in the run-chase. The explosive opener attempted a big heave but ended up with his stumps being uprooted by Ritvik Appidi. The RR opener was forced to walk back to the pavilion after scoring just 2 runs, giving USA U-19 a much-needed confidence booster. After all, all eyes were on Suryavanshi, with fans even expecting him to single-handedly finish the game for India. However, that was not to be.
The game was then paused twice due to lightning and rain, with a significant delay that saw the target being revised to 97 runs and the overs being reduced to 37. Vedant Trivedi was the first batter to depart after the play resumed while captain Ayush Mhatre was the next to follow. The CSK star managed to score just 19 runs before he was caught out by Amarinder Gill. The USA U-19 star did well to hold on to the ball despite slipping initially, leaving the India U-19 captain mighty unimpressed with himself.
Abhigyan Kundu and Vihaan Malhotra then took it upon themselves to stabilize India U-19’s innings. However, the latter was the last Indian batter to depart, courtesy of USA captain Utkarsh Srivastava. Kundu stayed unbeaten on 42 at the end of the run-chase and finished the match off in style with a six, allowing India to secure 2 points and start their World Cup campaign with a win.
Henil Patel delivers 5-star performance
India were exceptional with the ball in their U19 World Cup opening game against the USA, with Henil Patel leading the charge. The pacer bagged a five-wicket haul and played an instrumental role in limiting the opposition to just 108 runs. Amrinder Gill was the first batter to depart as Henil struck in his very first over. Thereafter, Sahil Garg and captain Srivastava managed to stabilize the innings, but it was short-lived.
Best bowling figures for India in U19 World Cup
- 6/23: Kamal Passi vs Zimbabwe, Townsville, 2012
- 5/14: Anukul Roy vs PNG, Mount Maunganui, 2018
- 5/16: Henil Patel vs USA, Bulawayo, 2026
- 5/21: Ravikant Singh vs PNG, Townsville, 2012
- 5/28: Vicky Ostwal vs SA, Providence, 2022
While wickets continued to fall at regular intervals and USA managing to go past 50 runs only in the 20th over, it was Nitish Suduni who played the role of a saviour for USA U-19 with his 36-run knock. Eventually, Henil finished with figures of 5/16 while Deepesh Devendran, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, RS Ambrish and Khilan Patel finished with one wicket each.
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