In another one-sided encounter in the U-19 Cricket World Cup, India thrashed USA by 201 runs at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein (South Africa) to stay unbeaten in the tournament. With this win, they moved into the Super Six stage.
USA won the toss and elected to bowl. The Indian innings began on an impressive note, with 14 runs coming off the first over. Following that, Arya Garg and Ateendra Subramanian of USA bowled brilliantly and eventually the latter got the reward in the form of Adarsh Singh’s wicket.
Arshin Kulkarni and Musheer Khan then formed a partnership in the middle, initially adopting a cautious approach before upping the scoring rate. They put together 155 runs, each notching up half-centuries. The partnership was eventually broken by Rishi Ramesh, who dismissed Musheer for 73. Arshin continued his aggressive play, scoring his first century in the tournament.
Arshin had for company captain Uday Saharan. He reached his century during this collaboration. Saharan played a supporting role, contributing 35 off 27 balls. Arshin, after making 108, was caught at long-off.
Saharan tried to up the ante but was dismissed in the process. Towards the end of the innings, quick contributions from Sachin Dhas (20) and Priyanshu Moliya (27) took India beyond the 300-run mark.
In pursuit of a formidable target of 327, USA found themselves struggling throughout the innings. Indian seamers, Naman Tiwari and Raj Limbani, were spitting venom with the ball. Siddarth Kappa had a torrid time, making 18 off 60 balls.
Utkarsh Srivastava emerged as the top scorer for USA, crafting 40 off 73 balls. Wicketkeeper Amogh Arepally made 27 off 71, while Aarin Nadkarni managed 20 off 44. USA concluded their innings at 125/8 in 50 overs.
Naman Tiwari consistently took wickets. Left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey continued his impressive form, returning figures of one wicket for 13 runs in 10 overs.