Nervy India down USA in rain-hit U19 World Cup clash

BULAWAYO: Henil Patel's five-wicket haul remained in the spotlight as five-time champions India beat the United States of America (USA) by five wickets in the rain-reduced opening match of the ICC Men's U19 World Cup here at the Queens Sports Club on Thursday.

India captain Ayush Mhatre's decision to field first proved beneficial as his team's bowling attack dismantled USA's batting unit and booked it for a slender 107 in 35.2 overs.

Nitish Sudini remained the top-scorer for the USA with a gutsy 36 off 52 deliveries with the help of four boundaries, while Adnit Jhamb (18), the top-order duo of Sahil Garg and Arjun Mahesh, 16 each, were the others to amass double figures.

Patel was the pick of the bowlers for India, returning magnificent bowling figures of 5/16 in his seven overs, while Deepesh Devendran, RS Ambrish, Khilan Patel and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi chipped in with one scalp apiece.

For his economical five-wicket haul, Patel was adjudged the Player of the Match.

Set to chase a modest 108, India suffered a major setback as Ritvik Appidi cleaned up their star batter Sooryavanshi (two) in the third over with just 12 runs on the board.

Following the early setback, Vedant Trivedi and captain Mhatre anchored India to 21/1 in four overs before rain intervened and kept the course of play halted for an extended period, resulting in 13 overs being lost.

India were then set a revised target of 96 in 37 overs, and the five-time champions were made to do hard yards in achieving the total as they lost two more wickets after the rain hindrance before wicketkeeper batter Abhigyan Kundu anchored the pursuit.

Kundu top-scored for India with an unbeaten 42 off 41 deliveries, studded with five fours and a six. He was also involved in a crucial 45-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Vihaan Malhotra, who made 18 off 17.

For the USA, Appidi bagged two wickets, while Rishabh Shimpi and Utkarsh Srivastava could claim one apiece.