That’s all from this contest, folks! India U19 clinched the 3-match Youth ODI series, with one game still left to play. For now, it’s me, Deepak Prakash, signing off on behalf of my colleagues Akshay Bhide and Yogesh Kumar. CHEERS!
5:04 PM IST, 9:34 PM Local Time: Brilliant batting and bowling display from India U19, and they thump Australia U19 by 51 runs in the second Youth ODI. With this victory, the visitors take an unassailable 2-0 lead to clinch the three-match series, with one game still to be played.
Earlier, India U19 put up a competitive total of 300 in 49.4 overs after being asked to bat first. Despite losing skipper Ayush Mhatre for a first-ball duck, Vaibhav Suryavanshi (70), Vihaan Malhotra (70), and Abhigyan Kundu (71) led the charge with well-made fifties. Suryavanshi and Malhotra shared a 117-run stand that laid the platform, but Australia U19 struck back after the drinks break, triggering a middle-order collapse. Kundu’s counterattacking knock in the latter stages ensured India finished strongly, even as the tail failed to contribute much. For Australia U19, all six bowlers chipped in with wickets, with William Byrom (3/47) and skipper Yash Deshmukh (2/31) being the standout performers. Australia U19 made a shaky start to the chase, with openers Alex Turner (24) and Simon Budge (14) failing to find any momentum. Their cautious approach yielded just 29 runs in 11.5 overs for the first wicket. The hosts then suffered a collapse, losing wickets in clusters and slipping to 64/4 by the 21st over. Jayden Draper and Aryan Sharma mounted a strong resistance with a valuable seventh-wicket stand of over 100 runs. Draper impressed with a fine century, while Sharma contributed a steady 38 to keep the chase alive. However, as the required rate kept rising, both fell while trying to up the tempo—Draper for 107 and Sharma for 38—pushing Australia U19 in deep waters. The tailenders failed to add much resistance, and eventually, the hosts were folded for 249 runs in the 48th over. Skipper Ayush Mhatre failed to impress with the bat in this contest, but he starred with the ball for Men in Blue, claiming 3 wickets for 27 runs in 4 overs. Kanishk Chouhan chipped in with a couple of wickets, while Kishan Kumar, RS Ambrish, Khilan Patel, and Vihaan Malhotra contributed one wicket to the downfall.
W Barton holes out to long on and that's the end of this fixture. Tossed up delivery outside off, Barton gets down on one knee and slogs it. He gets it off the toe end of the bat and picks out the long on fielder perfectly who takes a simple catch to put an end to this contest.
47.1 V Malhotra to K Barton
2 Over the wicket, flighted delivery on the stumps, Barton gets low and lofts it down the ground. Long off runs to his right and cuts it off. Two runs picked up.