Bulawayo: Young middle-order batter Vihaan Malhotra showed admirable composure to rediscover his touch and compile a fine century, while Abhigyan Kundu extended his sublime run of form as India stormed to a commanding 204-run victory over Zimbabwe in their opening Super Six match of the U-19 World Cup here on Tuesday.
India, after an all-win group-stage campaign in which they emphatically defeated the USA, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, continued their aggressive brand of cricket to pile up a mammoth 352 for 8.
The innings was anchored by Malhotra’s cautious yet confident unbeaten 109 (107 balls, 7×4) while Kundu chipped in with a fluent 61 (62 balls, 5×4, 1×6), as the hapless Zimbabwe bowlers were taken apart with alarming ease.
India’s pace-bowling duo didn’t let up, as RS Ambrish (2/19) and Henil Patel (1/25) bowled the first nine overs in tandem to completely overwhelm the Zimbabwean batters, reducing them to 24 for 3 by the ninth over.
Zimbabwe were eventually bundled out for 148 in 37.4 overs, giving India a superb start to their Super Six campaign.
India now have six points and are on top of Group 2 of the Super Six.
