Pakistani pacers fought back after India got off to a brisk start to trigger a collapse from 47-0 to 47-3 in the Super Sixes stage of the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2026 at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, on Sunday.
After being asked to bat first, India had raced to 47 runs in 8 overs, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leading the charge. The left-hander scored 30 off 21 balls, hitting five fours and a six before being dismissed by Mohammad Sayyam.
Captain Ayush Mhatre (0) walked in at number three but fell in the same over. In the next over, Abdul Subhan removed opener Aaron George (16), leaving the five-time champions in early trouble.
After the initial setbacks, Vedant Alpeshkumar Trivedi and Vihaan Manoj Malhotra added 62 runs for the fourth wicket. Malhotra (21) was removed by Ahmed Hussain, leaving India 109-4 in the 24th over.
Wicketkeeper-batter Abhigyan Abhishek Kundu, who had earlier been reprieved off a no-ball, failed to capitalise on the chance and was dismissed while attempting a big shot by Ali Hassan Baloch.
At the end of 33 overs, India were 149-5, with Trivedi — who had crossed the 50-run mark — batting alongside Ambrish R S.
Both teams are eyeing a win to claim the final spot in the semi-finals, as England, Australia, and Afghanistan have already secured their places in the final four.
But for the Sarfaraz Ahmed-mentored side, the situation demands more than just a victory, as the Green Shirts need to beat India by a big margin to surpass their opponent in terms of net run rate.
With four points to their name, Pakistan currently sit third in Group 2, while India occupy the second spot with six points, with unbeaten England already having secured a place in the knock-out stage with eight points.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Hamza Zahoor(wk), Sameer Minhas, Usman Khan, Ahmed Hussain, Farhan Yousaf(c), Huzaifa Ahsan, Ali Hassan Baloch, Abdul Subhan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Ali Raza.
India: Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre(c), Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu(wk), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran.
