India started their campaign on the opening day of the Under-19 World Cup 2026 at the Queens Park Oval in Bulawayo against the United States of America (USA), as they recently won the three-match away series against South Africa away from home, as a preparatory series, which brings more excitement.

The fielding from the Indianside, especially Vihaan Malhotra, was exceptional as he made a brilliant catch to draw the first blood for the side. Later, he showed another instance to run the batter, Adit Kappa, out as the two batters faced a massive mix-up between them, in the bowling of the spinner, Kanisk Chouhan.

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It was a tossed up around the off of delivery from the spinner as Kappa punched it to the right of cover, where Vihan, the live wire on the field, dived across and made that stop before collecting the ball and then turning around to make it a direct hit at the bowler’s end as the batters had already set off for a quick single.

Vihaan Malhotra's special fielding in U-19 World Cup 2026

Kappa was always struggling despite the dive, as he was yards short and was sent on his way by the on-field umpire without taking the help of the third umpire and the review system. He made his way back to a dugout for five runs in just 19 deliveries. It was not a great batting performance from the USA side, with only four of their batters making it into double figures.

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Nitish Sun ended up as the leading run-getter individually in the scorecard with 36 runs in 52 deliveries, thanks to his four boundaries, while Sahil Garg and Arjun Mahesh ended up with 16 runs apiece. Henil Patel celebrates his five-wicket haul for 16 runs in seven overs at an economy rate of justice over two thanks to one maiden.

The United States of America side got bundled out for just 107 runs in 35.2 overs, as the Indian side will hope to complete the chase quickly to get a massive boost in the net run rate, which will be vital heading deep into the tournament against some of the strong teams.

Brief Scores: USA U-19 107 (Nitish Sudini 36, Adnit Jhamb 18, Henil Patel 5/16) vs India U-19.  

India’s rising star Vaibhav Suryavanshi is close to a major milestone in the Under-19 World Cup 2026. The 14-year-old needs just six runs to go past former India captain Virat Kohli in the list of India’s highest run-scorers in Youth ODIs. Kohli had scored 978 runs in 28 matches at an average of 46.57, with one century and six half-centuries.

Vaibhav has already scored 973 runs in just 18 Youth ODI matches at an impressive average of 54.05. He has hit three centuries and four half-centuries, with a strike rate of 164.08. He also needs only 27 more runs to complete 1,000 runs in Youth ODI cricket and could become the seventh Indian batter to reach the mark.

Over the last year, Vaibhav has made headlines with his attacking batting in age-group cricket. He has impressed in the IPL, India A, and the India Under-19 team. With the Under-19 World Cup starting today in Zimbabwe and Namibia, he has a big chance on the opening day to break another important record.

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Sooryavanshi’s recent form

The 14-year-old has been in good form in recent matches. He scored a massive 190 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26 game against Arunachal Pradesh. He then led India in the warm-up series against South Africa. After scoring 11 in the first match, he made 68 in the second game and followed it up with a brilliant 127 in the final. In the World Cup warm-up match against Scotland, he hit a quick 96 but was dismissed for one run against England.

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Indian batters with 1,000 or more runs in Youth ODIs

Vijay Zol holds the record for India with 1,404 runs in Youth ODIs. He is followed by Yashasvi Jaiswal (1,386), Tanmay Srivastava (1,316), Unmukt Chand (1,149), Shubman Gill (1,149) and Sarfaraz Khan (1,080). Overall, the highest run-getter in Youth ODIs is Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto, who has scored 1,820 runs in 58 matches. Here is the complete list below:

Most runs for India in Youth ODIs

1. Vijay Zol - 1404 runs
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal - 1386 runs
3. Tanmay Srivastava - 1316 runs
4. Unmukt Chand - 1149 runs
5. Shubman Gill - 1149 runs
6. Sarfaraz Khan - 1080 runs
7. Virat Kohli - 978 runs
8. Vaibhav Suryavanshi - 973 runs

India to face the USA in the opening game of the U19 World Cup

India are placed in Group A along with the USA, Bangladesh and New Zealand. All matches will be played at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. India will begin their campaign on January 15, face Bangladesh on January 17, and play New Zealand a week later.

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