Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre power India to a 7-wicket win over New Zealand in U19 World Cup 2026

The Under-19 teams of India and New Zealand faced each other on January 24 during the 2026 Under-19 World Cup. After winning the toss, India chose to field first. This move by captain Ayush Mhatre worked perfectly, as the Indian bowlers prevented New Zealand from setting a high target. The New Zealand side was bowled out for only 135 runs, with none of their top players performing well. With this result, India secured its third win in a row during the competition.

What happened in the match?

Due to rain, the match was shortened to 37 overs per side. Batting first, New Zealand was bowled out for 135 runs in 36.2 overs. The openers struggled, as Aryan Mann scored 3 runs off 21 balls and Hugo Boage made 4 runs off 3 deliveries. Additionally, Tom Jones added only 2 runs from 10 balls. On the other hand, wicketkeeper Marco William Alpe scored 29, while Jacob Cotter and Callum Samson contributed 23 and 37 runs respectively to help the total.

For the Indian team, RS Ambarish delivered a great spell, taking 4 wickets while giving away only 29 runs in 8 overs. Henil Patel also played a key role, picking up 3 wickets for 23 runs across 7.2 overs.

India had a shaky start while chasing the target, as Aaron George fell early after scoring 7 runs. However, Vaibhav Suryavanshi changed the momentum by hitting a quick 40 off 23 balls, including three sixes. Captain Ayush Mhatre was even more aggressive, smashing an unbeaten 53 from just 27 deliveries with six maximums. Together, they added 75 runs for the second wicket, which was the turning point of the game. Thanks to their fast scoring, India reached the required total in only 13.3 overs.