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India continue to improve their ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup credentials, collecting a fourth-straight victory to maintain their still-perfect record at the tournament.
Their 204-run win against hosts Zimbabwe was an expression of the sheer depth of talent this team possesses. They are on the cusp of semi-final qualification, having also notched victories over the USA, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, according to the ICC website. But this victory assists in having this side better conditioned for the pointy end of the World Cup; it's their first win that wasn't impacted by the DLS method and the first time they have batted the full 50 overs, scoring a blistering 352/8, which was far too many runs for Zimbabwe to chase down. Vihaan Malhotra was a standout Player of the Match choice, scoring 109*. India's score of 352 is the fourth-largest total posted at the World Cup so far. Captain Ayush Mhatre, who took three wickets of his own, was quick to credit the role Malhotra had played earlier with the bat. "(Vihaan has been) really doing well," Mhatre said post-game. "(When we were touring before the World Cup) he was doing really well, he is really confident, and we are also really confident that he's batting really well and that he is doing good work for the team," he added. Mhatre (3/14 off four overs), Udhav Mohan (3/20 off 6.4), and R.S. Ambrish (2/19) ensured India made quick work of their time in the field, giving the team plenty of confidence and ambition to make a deep World Cup run. "This match was really nice for us, the boys were really doing well, and we'll try to carry this momentum forward," Mhatre added. And it only gets bigger from here. Depending on other results, India may have already secured a spot in the final four, depending on England's upcoming match against New Zealand. But given India's next opponent is rival Pakistan, there will be no holding back. They intend to avoid distractions and stay laser-focused on the task at hand. "The boys are really excited for the match, we'll just play our game, not really worry about our opponents that we are playing against, (we'll) just play our game and back our game," Mhatre noted. (ANI)
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