Reigning champions, India, were off to a winning start against Asian rivals Bangladesh in their inaugural Group A league match of the ongoing ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 on Saturday 20th January 2024

Put in to bat at picturesque Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein in South Africa, India were reduced to 31 for 2 in the eighth over following  a fiery spell by left-arm pacer Maruf Mridha (5/43), Opener  Adarsh Singh (76) and skipper Uday Saharan (64) resurrected the innings with their crucial 116 runs partnership off 144 balls for the third wicket. Adarsh (76) eventually fell while trying to loft Rizwan Chowdhury over mid-off.

Bangladesh were able to stem the flow of runs, and this resulted in another breakthrough, in the form of the set Saharan (64). Aravelly Avanish (23 from 17) starred with a cameo to add crucial runs in the death overs. Another brisk knock from Sachin Dhas (26 from 20) helped add some crucial runs to the India total. Maruf returned to garner two more wickets, and ensured that India were restricted to 251 for 7. in their alloted 50 overs

Bangladesh openers looked compact against India's new ball pair. Even as Naman Tiwari struggled for control, Ashiqur Rahman Shibli and Jishan Alam added a brisk 38 for the first wicket. The Boys in Blue, finally, struck in the 8th over, when Alam tried to pierce a Raj Limbani delivery past the covers, but was brilliantly caught by Murugan Abhishek. Right after, India vice-captain Saumy Pandey made a sensational entry in his U19 World Cup debut, picking back-to-back wickets to rock the Bangladesh innings.

Kulkarni also joined the wicket-takers' list by trapping Ahrar Amin (5) leg before wicket. A valiant fifth-wicket stand between Ariful Islam and Mohammad Shihab James rescued Bangladesh from dire straits. The duo batted patiently to bring the Young Tigers closer to their ask.

However, Ariful fell to Musheer Khan in the 35th over to give India the advantage. The Bangladesh innings unravelled thereafter. The left-arm spin duo of Saumy (4/24) and Musheer (2/35) shared six wickets between them to help India to a win with 5.1 overs to spare..

India’s skipper Uday Saharan expressed that his crucial third-wicket stand with Adarsh (Man of the Match), which helped his team to a strong position in the first inning, before the spin twins Saumy and Musheer skittled out the opponents (Current ACC Under-19 Asia Cup champions).

Spin dominated proceedings in Potchefstroom too, where three-wicket hauls from Farhan Ahmed and Luc Benkenstein helped England to a seven-wicket win over Scotland.

Meanwhile, a brilliant hundred from Shahzaib Khan helped Pakistan post a strong total in East London. Ubaid Shah and other pacers then ran through the Afghanistan batting to give the side a huge net run rate advantage.