India 238 all out in 49 overs (Abhigyan Kundu 80, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 72; Al Fahad 5-38)
Bangladesh 146 all out in 29 overs, target 165 (Azizul Hakim 51; Vihaan Malhotra 4-14)
India won by 18 runs on DLS
Sri Lanka 387-4 (Viran Chamuditha 192, Dimantha Mahavithana 115)
Japan 184-8 (Max Kelly 101*; Dinura Seneviratne 1-9)
Sri Lanka won by 203 runs
It looked straightforward for Bangladesh—106 for 2, only 59 required, buckets of wickets in hand. Yet an hour later they were packing their kits, 18 runs short after Vihaan Malhotra’s nagging off-spin tore out the middle order. “My job was simple – hit the right areas and let the pitch do the work,” Malhotra said, understatement hiding figures of 4 for 14 that changed everything.
Key moments
• Sooryavanshi’s run-a-ball 72 gave India a flyer.
• Kundu’s measured 80 dragged them to 238 after rain trimmed an over.
• A second shower left Bangladesh chasing 165 in 29 overs; they were ahead on the DLS sheet until the 20-over mark.
• Malhotra’s double-strike in his first over triggered 8 for 46.
Sooryavanshi had looked in a different match entirely. While his partners poked around for 35 off 93 balls, he freed the arms, collected boundaries square of the wicket and, crucially, never let Al Fahad settle. “I just tried to stay positive and put away the loose balls,” he said. Once the opener miscued in the 27th over, Kundu changed tempo, content to milk the gaps. “The plan was to bat deep and let the others play around me,” he explained, though India still lost 6 for 60 at the death.
Fahad’s 5-38 gave Bangladesh a spring in their step. They even needed a stand-in skipper for the toss – regular captain Azizul Hakim was nursing a stomach bug – but when play resumed he marched out at No. 3 and anchored the chase. “We thought we had it under control until the rain came,” Hakim admitted. That second squall reduced the target and messed with the rhythm. India, eyes on the clouds, slowed things down and umpire Lubabalo Gcuma had words. Once 20 overs passed, though, a result had to be earned on grass, not paperwork.
Enter Malhotra, into a light breeze, stump-to-stump. Two skidders, two wickets – pressure. Sooryavanshi then dived full-length at deep mid-wicket, plucking a catch that would have carried for six an over earlier. Momentum – a fickle thing in junior cricket – swung decisively. From 119 for 4, Bangladesh folded to 146 all out, last man run-out seeking a second that never existed.
Sri Lanka cruise
While Dhaka drama unfolded in the early match, Sri Lanka’s openers were busy rewriting scorebooks in Potchefstroom. Viran Chamuditha’s 192 – peppered with 26 fours and a straight six that dented the sightscreen – eclipsed Japan’s final score on its own. “It felt good, but I left a few out there,” he laughed, only half-joking after missing a double-ton by eight runs. Partner Dimantha Mahavithana added a silky 115; the pair’s 328-run stand lasted into the 44th over and left the bowlers with a licence to swing for the fence.
Japan battled gamely. Max Kelly, an Australian-born left-hander, nurdled, drove and swept his way to a well-paced 101 not out. “Facing quality spin that late in the day was a valuable lesson,” he reflected. Unfortunately for Japan, the other ten mustered 69 between them and Sri Lanka cantered to a 203-run victory, an early net-run-rate boost they may well need later in the tournament.
Talking points
• Sri Lanka’s total was the highest of the opening round, yet they still fell 13 short of 400 after stalling in the last five overs.
• India’s fielding – scruffy in patches – produced two direct-hit run-outs, saving perhaps 15 runs that proved decisive.
• Bangladesh’s decision to slow the game, hoping rain would return, back-fired; the DLS sheet can be a friend or foe.
With two matches in, the group already feels tight. India have points on the board despite a shaky middle order; Sri Lanka have runs to burn but little time for complacency. Japan, despite a heavy defeat, found a beacon in Kelly’s ton. As for Bangladesh, they will need to forget this collapse quickly – World Cups aren’t kind to teams that dwell on yesterday.
