Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club witnessed India’s bowling prowess and batting fireworks as the young Men in Blue crushed New Zealand by seven wickets in a rain-affected Under-19 World Cup group stage thriller. This hat-trick of wins crowns them Group B leaders, setting up intriguing Super Sixes fixtures.
Opting to field, India capitalized immediately. New Zealand’s top order imploded: Hugo Bog out for 0 at 5/1 (2.2 overs), Tom Jones for 2, and another at 17/3 (7.1 overs) before rain. Adjusted to 37 overs, the Kiwis reached 22/5 swiftly.
Recovery attempts included 37 runs between Jaskaran Sandhu and Jacob Coter (23 off 47), and a vital 53-run eighth-wicket alliance by Selwyn Sanjay (28) and Kalem Samson (37*). Total: 135 all out.
RS Ambrish was the wrecker-in-chief (4/29), Henil Patel grabbed three, others one apiece – a textbook bowling performance.
DLS target of 130 was devoured in 13.3 overs. After Aaron George’s 7, Vaibhav Suryavanshi (40 off 23: 3 sixes, 2 fours) and Ayush Mhatre (53 off 27: 6 sixes, 2 fours) piled on 76 runs in 39 balls. At 101/3, Vedant Trivedi (13*) and Vihaan Malhotra (17*) ensured a stroll to victory.
Next up: Zimbabwe on Jan 27, then the blockbuster against Pakistan on Feb 1. India’s campaign is firing on all cylinders.