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Vihaan Malhotra produced a game-changing spell to help India clinch a thriller against Bangladesh to bag their second win in a row in the ICC U19 World Cup 2026 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Sunday, January 17. Malhotra's four-wicket haul saw India defend the revised DLS target of 165 runs in the rain-affected contest, which was reduced to 29 overs during Bangladesh's run chase.
The game which got off to a delayed start and saw frequent rain interruptions was reduced to 29 overs when the heavens opened up with Bangladesh cruising at 90/2 after 17.2 overs in their 239-run chase. Bangladesh were handed a revised target of 165 runs in 29 overs post the rain break, meaning they required 75 off 70 balls with 8 wickets in hand when the game resumed.
Bangladesh appeared to be in the driver's seat at the time of the resumption. However, Indian bowlers soon sparked a turnaround with Malhotra leading the charge. Skipper Ayush Mhatre handed the ball to the part-time spinner and he went on to produce a magnificent spell to turn the game in India's favour.
Malhotra struck in the 22nd over to dismiss Kalan Siddiki Aleen on 15, before getting rid of the new batter Sheikh Paevez Jibon cheaply on 7 in his next over. He then went on to remove Md Samiun Basir Ratul cheaply on 2, and dismissed the dangerous Md Rizan Hossan on 15 off 9 in the penultimate 28th over to seal the deal for India.
Malhotra finished with fabulous figures of 4/14 and was well supported by Khilan Patel, who picked up two wickets while conceding 35 runs off his six overs. The part-time spinner's heroics helped India bundle out Bangladesh on 146 runs in just 28.3 overs to secure a thrilling victory in the reduced contest.
Skipper Mohammad Azizul Hakim Tamim top-scored for Bangladesh with 51 off 72 balls. He was looking in great touch and appeared set to convert his knock into a big one, but ended up being part of Bangladesh's collapse after the rain break as Patel got the better of him in the 25th over.
Earlier, asked to bat first in the game, India got off to a horrendous start as they lost the likes of skipper Ayush Mhatre (6), Vedant Trivedi (0) and Malhotra (7) cheaply to get reduced to 53/3 inside ten overs. Vaibhav Suryavanshi helped India recover from their poor start with a brilliant knock of 72 runs off 67 balls.
Suryavanshi's knock was laced with six fours and three sixes as he batted at his natural tempo despite pressure building from the wickets falling on the other end. After the left-hander's departure, Abhigyan Kundu helped India post a challenging total of 238 runs on the board with a fighting knock of 80 off 112 balls.
Kundu, who has been India's most reliable batter in the middle order in the last few months, shared a crucial stand of 54 runs for the sixth wicket with Kanishk Chauhan, who scored a valuable 28 off 26 balls. In the end, the total proved enough for India as they managed to secure a commanding win despite the target being revised to 165 runs in 29 overs.
India bagged their second win in a row in the tournament after beating USA by 6 wickets via DLS method in their opener. The Mhatre-led side will look to continue their winning run when they take on New Zealand U19 in their next group-stage clash on Saturday, January 24.
