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Bulawayo: In the Super Six round of the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026, Team India continued its stellar performance, handing a crushing 204-run defeat to hosts Zimbabwe. With this big win in the match played in Bulawayo, Team India has overtaken England (England ) in Group 2 of the Super Six and secured the top spot in the points table. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe and New Zealand have been eliminated from the tournament after their respective losses. New Zealand was defeated by Pakistan by 8 wickets.
Malhotra’s unbeaten century
India batted first and scored 352 runs for 8 wickets in 50 overs. Vihan Malhotra played a brilliant innings, scoring an unbeaten 109 runs, while Abhigyan Kundu (61) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (52) scored half-centuries. India had a fast start. Openers Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Aaron George added 44 runs in just four overs. Suryavanshi completed his half-century in just 24 balls, which is the joint second-fastest fifty in the tournament. Although Zimbabwe tried to disrupt the Indian innings in the middle overs, Vihan Malhotra and Abhigyan Kundu steadied the innings. The two shared a century partnership for the fourth wicket. In the final overs, Khilan Patel played an explosive innings of 30 runs off 12 balls, taking India past the 350-run mark.
Indian bowlers wreak havoc
Chasing a target of 353 runs, the Zimbabwe team looked under pressure from the start. After one opener was dismissed on the second ball, their innings crumbled. RS Ambrish and Uddhav Mohan wreaked havoc with the new ball, while captain Ayush Mhatre also took 3 wickets. Only Leroy Chivoula (62) showed any resistance for Zimbabwe, but the rest of the batsmen disappointed. The entire team was bowled out for 148 runs in 37.4 overs, and India won the match by 204 runs.
Pakistan’s victory makes Group 2 interesting
On the other hand, the Pakistan team kept their hopes alive in the tournament by defeating New Zealand by 8 wickets. In the match played in Harare, Pakistani fast bowlers Ali Raza and Abdul Subhan combined to bowl out New Zealand for just 110 runs. Ali Raza took 3 wickets for 36 runs, while Abdul Subhan claimed 4 wickets for 11 runs. In reply to New Zealand’s score, Pakistan chased down the target of 111 runs in just 17.1 overs, thanks to a brilliant unbeaten innings of 76 runs by opener Sameer Minhas. This victory has improved Pakistan’s net run rate, and they are now looking forward to the high-voltage match against India on February 1st.
Impact on the Points Table
Following the big win, the Indian team has moved to the top of the Super Six Group 2 points table, while England has slipped to second place. Pakistan is currently in third place. Their next match against India could largely determine the semi-final picture. In Super Six Group 1, Australia is firmly in first place.
