A Vaibhav Sooryavanshi special and a four-wicket haul from Kishan Kumar Singh propelled India U-19 to an eight-wicket win in the second Youth ODI against South Africa U-19 in Benoni. With this victory, India U-19 took an unassailable lead in the three-match series.
For the second time in the series, South Africa captain Muhammed Bulbulia won the toss and this time opted to bat first. Playing his first game after missing the opening match, Kishan Kumar Singh showed his class with the ball. The left-arm pacer made the new ball talk, moving it both ways to dismantle the hosts’ top order. Vaibhav handed him an extended spell, which resulted in the dismissal of the South African captain.
Kanishk Chouhan then got into the act, picking up the wicket of Armaan Manack. While wickets continued to fall at the other end, Jason Rowles stood tall for his team. The left-handed batter forged a 97-run fifth-wicket partnership with Daniel Bosman, who was the only other batter to cross the 30-run mark. Rowles’ 114-run knock helped South Africa reach 245. Of the six bowlers used, only Mohamed Enaan went wicketless in the seven overs he bowled. Star of the previous game with the ball, Deepesh Devendran, leaked runs at 7.20 runs per over. Kanishk and Khilan Patel were the most economical bowlers and did not allow South Africa to score freely. One of the biggest positives with the ball was RS Ambrish picking up wickets once again.
Lightning and adverse weather conditions reduced India’s target to 174 in 27 overs. This essentially gave Vaibhav licence to go hard at the top. The southpaw put on a one-man show with a blistering innings, muscling the bowlers over the ropes with ease. He struck only one four during his knock, which came at a strike rate of 283.33. The first-wicket partnership between Vaibhav and Aaron George laid the foundation, as the duo added 67 runs and helped India score over 100 runs in the first ten overs. This brisk start allowed Vedant Trivedi to bide his time and anchor the run chase. Abhigyan Kundu carried on from where Vaibhav left off to finish the game with a quickfire 48. The wicketkeeper-batter effectively sealed the game with a six.
Benoni will host the final ODI on 7 January as India look to complete a series whitewash before flying out to Zimbabwe for the World Cup.
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