The U19 World Cup 2026 will kick off with an interesting contest between the USA U19 and India U19 teams in Match 1, which will take place at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Thursday, 15 January. Both teams would be looking to begin the tournament on a positive note.

USA U19 comes into this match having lost their warm-up game against Pakistan U19. Though the result did not go in their favour, it would be a good enough experience for the team to put up a better performance in their opening match of the World Cup. Certainly, a good start is what they need to gain confidence early in the tournament.

India U19 are considered one of the favourites to win the title. Even though they lost their final warm-up match against England U19, their overall form has been impressive. They have lost only one of their last ten matches and have a strong batting unit. India also beat USA U19 comfortably in their only previous meeting and will aim to repeat a similar performance.

USA U19 vs IND U19: Head-to-Head Record

The two teams have met only once before. In that match, India U19 won by 201 runs.

USA U19 vs IND U19: Pitch Report

The pitch at Queens Sports Club is expected to help fast bowlers, especially early in the match. The ball can move around, so batters will need to be careful at the start. As the match progresses, scoring becomes easier. Teams winning the toss may prefer to bowl first.

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USA U19 vs IND U19: Predicted Playing XIs

United States Of America U19 (USA U19):

Utkarsh Srivastava (C), Sahil Garg, Rishabh Shimpi, Arjun Mahesh (WK), Nitish Sudini, Amrinder Gill, Ritvik Appidi, Adit Kappa, Sabrish Prasad, Shiv Shani, Rayaan Taj

India U19 (IND U19):

Ayush Mhatre (C), Vedant Trivedi, RS Ambrish, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Abhigyan Kundu (WK), Khilan Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan, Kanishk Chouhan