Latest update March 13th, 2026 12:35 AM
U-19 Men’s World Cup: India come from behind to beat Bangladesh
(Cricinfo) – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 72 at better than a run a ball, and took an agile catch at the boundary at a crucial stage in a match that featured everything – a stand-in captain just for the toss, some controversy, a batting collapse, rain, DLS drama and a thrilling finish. Bangladesh looked to have everything in hand – 106 for 2 chasing a revised target of 165 in 29 overs – but somehow they fell apart, losing to India by 18 runs.
The game began as a full 50-over contest, and Sooryavanshi dominated it until he fell. When he was dismissed in the 27th over, he walked back with 72 of the 115 runs on the board. The other four batters combined had scored 35 off 93 deliveries. While Sooryavanshi set the foundation, Abhigyan Kundu carried the team the rest of the way. He made a patient 80 in 112 balls to propel India to 238 after the first rain break had trimmed the innings to 49 overs.
Vihan Malhotra took 4 for 14 to help India beat Bangladesh in the U-19 World Cup (ICC/Getty Images)
Seamer Al Fahad took 5 for 38 for Bangladesh, including the wicket of Kundu, but it wasn’t quite enough. In the 239 chase, Bangladesh were 90 for 2 after 17.2 overs when rain reduced the game to 29 overs. On resumption, they were left with another 75 to get in 70 balls. With dark clouds still around and Bangladesh well ahead on DLS, India tried to delay proceedings prompting umpire Lubabalo Gcuma to intervene.
Twenty overs of play – the minimum requirement to constitute a full game – came and went and with no more showers on the horizon the two sets of players shifted focus to the task at hand. Bangladesh had to switch from protecting their wickets to scoring the remaining runs and in the end the decision to slow down, hoping for rain to halt the game, came back to bite them.
Offspinner Vihaan Malhotra (4-0-14-4), brought on when Bangladesh had let the asking rate rise to 7.37, started the batting collapse. Captain Azizul Hakim, who was too unwell to make it to the toss, was part of this collapse and his wicket for 51 off 72 balls signalled a major shift in momentum. Bangladesh lost eight wickets for 46 runs after being ahead of the game for most of it.
Chamuditha, Mahavithana blow Japan away…
Sri Lanka could not have asked for a better start to their Under-19 World Cup campaign, as their openers all but batted Japan out of the contest. Viran Chamuditha’s magnificent 192 alone surpassed Japan’s eventual total, while Dimantha Mahavithana chipped in with a fluent 115. Together, they put on a monumental 328 for the first wicket, a partnership that ended only in the 44th over when Mahavithana was run out.
Viran Chamuditha and Dimantha Mahavithana put on 328 for the opening wicket (Getty Images)
While Mahavithana hit 11 fours in his 125-ball knock, Chamuditha batted at a strike rate of 134, smashing 26 fours and a six. At 326 without loss after 43 overs, Sri Lanka looked set for a 400-plus total; but over the next four overs, they scored just 21 runs for the loss of three wickets. During that mini-collapse, Chamuditha missed out on a double hundred when he fell at the start of the 45th over.
Sri Lanka captain Vimath Dinsara, however, provided a finishing flourish with an unbeaten 44 off just 24 balls, setting Japan an improbable target of 388.
Japan never found any momentum in the chase. They lost a wicket in the first over, and Sri Lanka kept them in check throughout. Hugo Kelly and Taylor Waugh added 50 for the fourth wicket after Japan had slipped to 56 for 3 in the 15th over, but the innings continued to stutter even as Kelly held one end up.
In Japan’s only real positive, Kelly finished unbeaten on 101 as his side huffed and puffed to 184 for 8 in 50 overs. The next highest score was Kazuma Kato-Stafford’s 19, as Sri Lanka thumped Japan by 203 runs to begin their campaign with a bang.
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