U19 World Cup 2026: Ayush Mhatre's India opt to field first in opener vs USA at Bulawayo – Firstpost
Indian U19 side, led by Ayush Mhatre, won the toss and opted to field first against the USA U19 gruppe in the ICC U19 World Cup 2026 opener on Thursday (15 January) at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. With predictions of rain in Bulawayo on Thursday, India decided to bowl first and give their pacers the best possible conditions under the cloud cover.
“We have not used to these conditions and a little bit dewy also and overcast conditions. We will try to use these conditions,” India captain Ayush Mhatre mentioned at the toss. “The preparation is also positive and the boys are really confident and we have been playing for almost six months together, so the boys are really confident and preparation is going well. We are going with three pacers, one all-rounder and two spinners.”
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India U19 playing XI: Ayush Mhatre (c), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Pangalia, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Khilan Patel
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United States of America U19 playing XI: Sahil Garg, Amrinder Gill, Arjun Mahesh (wk), Utkarsh Srivastava (c), Ritvik Appidi, Adnit Jhamb, Amogh Arepally, Nitish Sudini, Sabrish Prasad, Adit Kappa, Rishabh Shimpi
India would aim to make a winning start to the tournament as they aim to conquest a record-extending sixth title. India last won the tournament in 2022, while Australia are the defending champions, having beaten the Indian U19 side in the final in 2024.
This is the USA’s fourth appearance at a U19 World Cup.
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