Under-19 World Cup: Vihaan Malhotra hits century as India crush Zimbabwe

Bulawayo: Young middle-order batter Vihaan Malhotra showed admirable composure to rediscover his touch and compile a fine century, while Abhigyan Kundu extended his sublime run of form as India stormed to a commanding 204-run victory over Zimbabwe in their opening Super Six match of the Under-19 World Cup, in Bulawayo, on Tuesday.

India, after an all-win group-stage campaign in which they emphatically defeated the USA, Bangladesh, and New Zealand, continued their aggressive brand of cricket to pile up a mammoth 352 for 8 in their 50 overs.

The innings was anchored by Malhotra's cautious yet confident unbeaten 109 (107 balls, 7x4) while Kundu chipped in with a fluent 61 (62 balls, 5x4, 1x6), as the hapless Zimbabwe bowlers were taken apart with alarming ease. India's pace-bowling duo didn't let up, as R S Ambrish (2/19) and Henil Patel (1/25) bowled the first nine overs in tandem to completely overwhelm the Zimbabwean batters, reducing them to 24 for 3 by the ninth over. Zimbabwe were eventually bundled out for 148 in 37.4 overs, giving India a superb start to their Super Six campaign. Agencies

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