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IND U19 won by 6 wickets (DLS METHOD)

7:38 PM IST, 4:08 PM Local Time: Team India seal a nervy win to kick start their Under-19 World Cup campaign at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. A brilliant bowling performance from Henil Patel and then a brisk unbeaten 42 from Abhigyan Kundu helped defeat USA by 6 wickets (DLS).

India captain Ayush Mhatre won the toss and elected to bowl first. Nitish Sudini at number 7 top scored for USA with 36 and helped the side cross the three digit mark. Henil started off well in the powerplay and bowled an extended first spell and eventually finished with 5/16 in 7 overs.

RS Ambrish bowled first change and claimed 1/14 in 6 overs, Deepesh Devendran, Khilan Patel and Vaibhav Suryavanshi all claimed a wicket apiece and helped bundle USA out for 107 in 35.2 overs.

Just as Team India openers Mhatre and Suryavanshi walked on the ground to start the chase, rain arrived and the players were prompted off the field. Play resumed after a while but Suryavanshi was dismissed early by Ritvik Appidi for just 2.

With the score 21/1, there were signs of some lightning, the umpires followed the protocol and had the players off the field. After a long delay, the game was reduced to 37 overs per side - India's target being reduced to 96 runs.

Vedant Trivedi (2) and Mhatre (19 off 19) lost their wickets early as Appidi and Rishabh Shimpi struck after the delay. Vihaan Malhotra scored 18 off 17 to add 45 runs for the 4th wicket with Kundu.

USA skipper Utkarsh Srivastava dismissed Malhotra with India requiring just 26 more runs. Kundu was then joined by Kanishk Chouhan with the latter scoring 10 off 14. Kundu finished unbeaten on 42 in 41 deliveries smashing 5 fours and a maximum.

Ritvik Appidi (2/24) was the pick of the bowlers, Srivastava and Shimpi picked up a wicket apiece but USA never had enough runs on the board to ever get in a stronger position despite pinning India down to 70/4.

Stay tuned as we return with the post match presentation.

Henil Patel (Player of the Match): “The conditions were fairly normal, but there was a bit of swing in the air because of the weather. With the overcast conditions, the plan was to keep the length slightly fuller and just ahead of a good length, allowing the conditions to do the work.

I didn’t try anything complicated - just focused on simple lines and lengths, trusted the swing, and thankfully it paid off. It’s quite funny because the skipper was setting most of the field, but one of my favourite bowlers of all time is Dale Steyn. I really admire his aggression and the intensity he brings, and that’s something I enjoy trying to bring into my own bowling as well.

While I was out there, I did adjust my length slightly. I started a bit fuller and then went a fraction shorter later on. That wasn’t really discussed beforehand - it was more about reading the conditions and making small changes on the go. It was just about adapting to what the pitch and weather were offering.

Getting my first five-wicket haul of this edition is really special. Starting the tournament like this gives a lot of confidence, not just to me but to the entire bowling unit. I’m really proud of that performance.”

Utkarsh Srivastava (USA U19 Captain): "We wanted to get to a big total and then defend, the pitch was hard so we wanted to bat. The ball was swinging a bit in the first hour, we didn't read the conditions and were poking a bit.

We always wanna win the game. We are playing since we were kids. We want to cause some upsets, we have nothing to lose.

We have 2 off spinners and we saw two lefties on the crease. We introduced them to get some wickets.

We could have read the conditions a little bit better. The nerves are not gonna be there from the next game hopefully."

Ayush Mhatre (India U-19 Captain): "Yeah, there were a few nerves. They bowled really well and hit good areas consistently, so it wasn’t easy. We probably could have batted a bit better, but that’s part of the game. It happens, and you move on.

I think it was a really good bowling effort overall. The bowlers read the conditions well and used them smartly. They kept things simple, bowled the right lengths, and didn’t try to do too much. That discipline made a big difference.

The message was very clear - keep it simple. The batters who were out there were confident, so the idea was not to complicate things. Just play normal cricket, back your basics, and build partnerships.

Yes, there is always expectation. Representing India is a huge honour, especially in a country like ours, so that pressure naturally comes with it. But our focus is to play good cricket and give our best in this World Cup."

A nervy win for Team India as they start their U19 World Cup campaign against USA. Brilliant bowling from Henil Patel and then a composed chase from Abhigyan Kundu has helped the boys in blue get their first points on the board.

That's it from our coverage of match number 1 in the ICC Men's U19 World Cup 2026! Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Dev Rajawat and scorer Dushyant Madhukar Kumar. Stay tuned for more action from around the world.