Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], January 15 : India Under-19 began their World Cup campaign on a positive note with a clinical six-wicket victory over USA Under-19 in Bulawayo on Thursday.
After winning the toss, India opted to bowl first and produced a disciplined bowling performance to bundle out USA for 107 in 35.2 overs.
Chasing a revised target of 96, India suffered early setbacks. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dismissed for 2, followed soon by Vedant Trivedi, who also managed 2 runs. Both wickets were taken by Ritvik Appidi. Captain Ayush Mhatre then departed for 19, leaving India at 25/3 in 5.2 overs.
Vihaan Malhotra and Abhigyan Kundu steadied the innings with a crucial 45-run partnership. Malhotra scored 18 before being dismissed, but Kundu stood firm in the chase. He was well supported by Kanishk Chouhan, and the pair ensured there were no further hiccups.
India eventually crossed the line in 17.2 overs. Kundu remained unbeaten on 42 off 41 balls, which included five boundaries and a six, while Chouhan stayed not out on 10. Ritvik Appidi was the lone bright spot for the USA bowlers, finishing with figures of 2/24 from his five overs.
For India, Henil Patel was the standout performer with the ball, returning excellent figures of 5/16 from his seven overs. This is the third-best bowling spell for India in U19 World Cup, after Kamal Passi (6/23 against Zimbabwe in 2012) and Anukul Roy (5/14 against Papua New Guinea in 2018).
Nitish Sudini top-scored for USA with 36 off 52 balls, but the innings never really gained momentum due to the lack of meaningful partnerships.
India's bowlers shared the workload effectively. Deepesh Devendran picked up 1/19, RS Ambrish claimed 1/14, Khilan Patel returned figures of 1/27, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi chipped in with 1/2.
The comprehensive win gave India a confident start to their Under-19 World Cup campaign.