Vihaan Malhotra leads India's revival as Bangladesh capitulate

A stunning revival led by Vihaan Malhotra helped India beat Bangladesh by 18 runs in their second game. On top for most parts of the game, Bangladesh choked at the end, losing their last 8 wickets for just 40 runs to fall short in a rain-affected encounter in Bulawayo.

Batting first, India got off to a disastrous start, losing two wickets in the third over. Vaibhav Suryavanshi was unperturbed and kept finding the boundary regularly with Malhotra at the other end. Before the end of the powerplay, Bangladesh also dismissed Malhotra to remain on top.

Suryavanshi brought up a fifty off just 30 balls and appeared to revive India alongside Abhigyan Kundu. Against the run of play, Iqbal Hossain Emon struck twice in two overs to peg India back again. Kundu put on a one-man show and hit a fighting half-century before rain arrived, reducing the contest to 49 overs per side. Post resumption, Kundu helped himself to 80 as India were bowled out for 238.

Even though Bangladesh lost a wicket in the very first over, they raced to 54/1 in the opening 10 overs to put India under early pressure. Another rain break forced a further reduction in overs. Upon resumption, Bangladesh's target was revised to 165 in 29 overs—a target they were primed to hunt down when comfortably placed at 102/2 after 20 overs.

However, a twist ensued when Malhotra returned to the attack and broke the 44-run partnership. Azizul Hakim Tamim continued to motor along, hammering a six and bringing up a fifty, but Malhotra struck again to cause panic. Khilan Patel piled on the pressure with the big wicket of the half-centurion, and from thereon, Bangladesh continued to drown. Both Malhotra and Patel made further inroads before Henil Patel ended Bangladesh's misery with the final wicket.

A record partnership in the Men's Under-19 World Cup between Sri Lanka's openers headlined their massive win over Japan. Dimantha Mahavithana and Viran Chamuditha added 328 runs for the opening wicket—only the second ever 300-plus partnership in Men's U19 World Cup history—helping Sri Lanka post a daunting 387/4.

The two batters were at the crease for the major part of the innings, with the partnership finally broken in the 44th over. Mahavithana departed for 115, but Chamuditha continued to make merry, looking set to become the first batter to score a double century in the tournament's history. He agonisingly fell 8 runs short but broke the record for the highest individual score.

Once Sri Lanka posted that mammoth total, the contest was effectively over. Japan lost a wicket off the second ball of the chase. A 55-run partnership ensued, but Japan showed no urgency to pursue the target. Sri Lankan bowlers picked wickets at regular intervals, while Hugo Kelly batted 162 deliveries for an unbeaten century. Japan finished with 184/8, falling short by 203 runs.