Bulawayo, Jan 18
India's U-19 captain Ayush Mhatre commended his team's star hitter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for demonstrating professionalism, highlighting how he managed the high-pressure situation with confidence. The 14-year-old played a vital role for India by scoring 72 off 67, helping his side beat Bangladesh at the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup on Saturday.
The win helped India continue their undefeated streak at the tournament and assert their dominance in Group B. At just 14 years old, Sooryavanshi has already accumulated significant milestones in his young career and has done incredibly well with the bat of late.
"(Sooryavanshi) showed the maturity that he's got and just batted really brilliant. He showed patience also; the team needed him to stay there, so he stayed in. It was initially tough conditions because there was some stickiness in the wicket and the ball was coming a little bit (on the) slower side, back of the length, so there was some difficulty. But the way that (Abhigyan Kundu and Sooryavanshi) batted, and (later in) the innings, (Kanishk Chouhan) batted well," Mhatre was quoted as saying by ICC.
India scored 238 runs batting first, thanks to three significant contributions. Despite rain affecting Bangladesh's chase, leading to the DLS method and a revised target of 165 from 29 overs, India managed to secure an 18-run win. Bangladesh were all out for 146 in 28.3 overs.
Kundu anchored India's batting innings with a steady 80 off 112 balls, complementing Vaibhav's more aggressive style. The two constructed a 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket, establishing a solid platform, while Chouhan's quick 28 off 26 balls contributed to the finishing efforts in their 50-over match.
"(Kundu) is batting really well in this tournament, and is in form also, so it's really nice for us that he's batting really brilliant and scoring some runs for our team. It really was a terrific victory from our boys, it was really big. We just play our game, we're not thinking much (about that game yet), just (about) playing our cricket," Mhatre stated.
Earlier, on the opening day of the tournament, India defeated the USA by six wickets (via DLS method) to kick off the tournament in style. After their 18-run victory against Bangladesh, the Men in Blue have a week-long break as they're scheduled to play New Zealand in their final group stage game only on Friday, January 24, before the super six stage begins.
- IANS
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