Vihaan Malhotra century helps Indian cricket team beat Zimbabwe

Powered by a century from Vihaan Malhotra and fifties from Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Abhigyan Kundu, the Indian cricket team beat Zimbabwe by 204 runs in their ICC U19 World Cup 2026 Super Six match in Bulawayo on Tuesday.

The win placed five-time champions India on top of Super Six Group 2. India will take on Pakistan in their second and final Super Six match at the same venue on Sunday.

The two teams from the six-team group, which also includes England, Bangladesh and New Zealand, will qualify for the semi-finals.

After being put in to bat first, India, riding on knocks from Player of the Match Vihaan Malhotra (109 from 107 balls) and fifties from Vaibhav Suryavanshi (52 off 30) and Abhigyan Kundu (61 off 62), scored 352/8 in 50 overs.

In reply, Zimbabwe could manage only 148/10 from 37.4 overs. Ayush Mhatre led India’s bowling effort with an impressive four-over spell of 3/14, while Udhav Mohan also claimed three wickets, conceding just 20 runs in 6.4 overs.

India set the tone early as Aaron George and Vaibhav Suryavanshi raced to 44 without loss in the first four overs.

Following George’s departure, a brisk 56-run stand between Suryavanshi and skipper Ayush Mhatre helped India reach 100 in the 11th over.

However, momentum briefly stalled when Suryavanshi, who had brought up a 24-ball fifty, and Mhatre were dismissed in quick succession in the same over. Vedant Trivedi’s wicket in the 17th over further reduced India to 130/4.

India, though, refused to lose grip on the innings. The backbone of the total was built through a fifth-wicket 113-run partnership between Vihaan Malhotra and Abhigyan Kundu.

Malhotra paced his knock smartly before accelerating towards the end, while Kundu played the ideal foil with a fluent 61.

A late cameo by Khilan Patel (30 off 12) added the final punch, pushing India past the 350 mark.

Chasing 353, Zimbabwe were rocked early as they lost three wickets for just 24 runs. Kian Blignaut (37) and Leeroy Chiwaula (62) offered resistance in a 69-run stand for the fourth wicket but India struck back to keep the hosts in check.

Zimbabwe found brief hope again through a 49-run partnership between Chiwaula and Tatenda Chimugoro but the innings unravelled soon after. The hosts lost their last five wickets in quick succession, collapsing to 148 all out in 37.4 overs.

Five-time champions India will play their next match against the U19 Asian champions Pakistan on Sunday. The India vs Pakistan contest, to be played at the same venue, could decide the top two teams of the group.

Click here to read article