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Zimbabwe under-19s overwhelmed by India
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Zimbabwe's teenage cricketers suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of India, going down by 204 runs in their opening ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup Super Six clash at Queens Sports Club yesterday.
Chasing a massive target of 353, the home side was bowled out for a mere 148 runs, exposing ongoing struggles in their batting line-up.
India's innings was anchored by an unbeaten century from Vihaan Malhotra, who scored 109 off 107 balls, featuring seven boundaries. Malhotra shared a 113-run fifth-wicket partnership with Abhigyan Kundu, propelling India to 352 for eight in their allotted 50 overs. Earlier, the Indian top order set the tone, with opening pair Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Aaron George putting 44 runs off 26 balls for the first wicket.
For Zimbabwe, Tatenda Chimugoro emerged as the most successful bowler, claiming three wickets for 49 runs, while Panashe Mazai and captain Simbarashe Mudzengerere chipped in with two wickets each.
Zimbabwe's chase, however, faltered immediately. Nathaniel Hlabangana was trapped lbw for a duck on the second ball of the innings, and Dhruv Patel followed for eight runs. Despite a brief resistance from Kian Blignaut (37) and Leeroy Chiwaula (62), who shared a 69-run partnership, Zimbabwe's lower order collapsed, losing their last five wickets for just seven runs. Udhav Mohan and Ayush Mhatre were the standout bowlers for India, picking up three wickets each.
Speaking after the match, skipper Mudzengerere defended his decision to bowl first, acknowledging execution errors as the key factor. "I think it was just a matter of execution. If we had executed better early on, we could have taken more wickets and restricted them," he said.
Malhotra was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten century, adding: "It is a great feeling to contribute to the team with the bat. The heat made the pitch play nicely, and it was good to be out there."
The defeat underscores the ongoing challenges facing Zimbabwe's youth cricket, particularly with the batting order failing to cope with high-pressure situations against top-quality opposition.
Chasing a massive target of 353, the home side was bowled out for a mere 148 runs, exposing ongoing struggles in their batting line-up.
India's innings was anchored by an unbeaten century from Vihaan Malhotra, who scored 109 off 107 balls, featuring seven boundaries. Malhotra shared a 113-run fifth-wicket partnership with Abhigyan Kundu, propelling India to 352 for eight in their allotted 50 overs. Earlier, the Indian top order set the tone, with opening pair Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Aaron George putting 44 runs off 26 balls for the first wicket.
For Zimbabwe, Tatenda Chimugoro emerged as the most successful bowler, claiming three wickets for 49 runs, while Panashe Mazai and captain Simbarashe Mudzengerere chipped in with two wickets each.
Speaking after the match, skipper Mudzengerere defended his decision to bowl first, acknowledging execution errors as the key factor. "I think it was just a matter of execution. If we had executed better early on, we could have taken more wickets and restricted them," he said.
Malhotra was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten century, adding: "It is a great feeling to contribute to the team with the bat. The heat made the pitch play nicely, and it was good to be out there."
The defeat underscores the ongoing challenges facing Zimbabwe's youth cricket, particularly with the batting order failing to cope with high-pressure situations against top-quality opposition.
Source - The Herald
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