Bulawayo: Vihaan Malhotra’s unbeaten century and a combined bowling effort led India to a commanding 204-run win over co-hosts Zimbabwe in the sixth match of the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026 Super Sixes stage at the Queen’s Sports Club on Tuesday.
Zimbabwe captain Simbarashe Mutsengarere’s decision to bat first backfired as five-time champions Zimbabwe piled on 352 for 8 in 50 overs.
Middle-order Malhotra led the Indian team with an unbeaten 109 off 107 balls with 7 fours.
Malhotra came into bat after left-arm opener Vaibhav Suriyavanshi laid a solid foundation for a big score with a magnificent half-century and then went on to add a century with wicketkeeper-batsman Abhiyan Kundu, who scored 61 off 62 balls.
All-rounder Kilan Patel then smashed 30 off 12 balls with four fours including three sixes.
Tadenda Simukoro took 3 wickets for 49 runs in his 8 overs for Zimbabwe, Panashe Masai and Simbarashe Mutsengarere took 2 wickets each and Dhruv Patel took one wicket.
Chasing a tough target of 353 runs, Zimbabwe’s batting unit managed 148 runs before being booked in 37.4 overs despite a cautious half-century from Leeroy Chiwaula.
Shivavula top scored for the home side with 62 off 77 balls with 7 fours and a six.
He put on a crucial fourth-wicket partnership of 69 with Gian Plignat, who scored 37 off 73 balls, before putting on 49 for the fifth wicket with Tatenda Chimukoro, the other to reach double figures, scoring 29 off one ball.
Uddhav Mohan and captain Ayush Madre jointly led India’s bowling with three wickets each, followed by R.S.
The impressive victory lifted India to the top of Group 2 of the U19 World Cup 2026 Super Sixers with six points from three matches, beating England who boasted a similar record but a lower net run rate.
Two-time champions Pakistan are third with four points from three matches and next face India in a high-octane match at the same venue on Sunday.