BULAWAYO: Off-spinner Vihaan Malhotra claimed four wickets to help India mount a stunning comeback and beat Bangladesh by 18 runs in their rain-affected Group ‘B’ match of the ICC U-19 World Cup at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Saturday.
This was India’s second consecutive victory in the event.
Chasing 165 in 29 overs in a rain-shortened match, Bangladesh, in a dramatic turnaround, collapsed for 146 in 28.3 overs. At one point, they were 106-2 in the 22nd and seemed heavy favorites to win the game.
Skipper Azizul Hakim top-scored with 51 off 72 balls with the help of four fours and a six, but the effort ultimately proved insufficient for Bangladesh. Opener Rifat Beg (37 out of 37) was the other major scorer.
Malhotra was the troubleshooter in chief with impressive figures of 4 for 14 in four overs.
Interestingly, after avoiding handshakes during the toss amid ongoing tensions between India and Bangladesh, players from both teams performed the traditional custom after the match.
Earlier, opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi slammed 72 off 67 while wicketkeeper/batsman Abhigyan Kundu made 80 off 112 as India, after being asked to bat first, posted 238 off 48.4 overs.
Suryavanshi, 14, became the youngest player to score a fifty in the history of the U-19 World Cup, and also overtook Virat Kohli in the list of players with the most runs in youth ODIs. For Bangladesh, pacer Al Fahad took five wickets for 38 runs in 9.2 overs.
In a Group ‘A’ match, Sri Lanka created two tournament records by outscoring Japan by 203 runs at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek.
After being put into bat first, Sri Lanka amassed 387-4 from their 50 overs and then restricted their opponents to 184-8 to win their first match of the event.
Sri Lankan openers Viran Chamuditha (192) and Dimantha Mahavithana (115) laid the foundation for a huge victory with a 328-run stand – the biggest partnership for a wicket in the history of the event – in 43.5 overs.
The previous record was held by England players Dan Lawrence (174) and Jack Burnham (148) who added 303 runs for the second wicket against Fiji in the 2016 U-19 World Cup in Chittagong.
The second record – for the highest ever individual score by a player in an U-19 World Cup – was won by 17-year-old Chamuditha, who smashed 26 fours and sixes in her 143 innings. The left-hander broke the record of his compatriot Hasith Boyagoda who hit 191 against Kenya in the 2018 edition. Mahavithana hit 11 fours in his 125-ball knock.
Published in Dawn, January 18, 2026
