Saumy Pandey’s Stellar Performance Leads India to 84-Run Victory over Bangladesh

Saumy Pandey took four wickets to bowl out Bangladesh for 167. The defending champions of the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, India, started their title defense in a spectacular manner by thrashing the Asian champions, Bangladesh, by a whopping 84 runs in the fifteenth edition of the tournament held in Bloemfontein on Saturday. India, after setting a challenging target of 251 runs for 7 wickets on a difficult pitch at Mangaung Oval, bowled out Bangladesh for a mere 167 runs to secure a comprehensive victory. Bangladesh began their chase of 252 runs with a promising start, scoring 33 runs in the first 6 overs. However, the turning point of the match came when Murugan Abhishek executed a brilliant catch, triggering a sequence of events where Saumy Pandey claimed two wickets in consecutive overs. This reduced Bangladesh to a precarious position of 41 for 3 within the first powerplay. The situation worsened for Bangladesh as Arshin Kulkarni trapped Ahrar Amin in front of the stumps in the 15th over, leaving them struggling at 50 for 4. Nevertheless, a resilient partnership between Mohammad Shihab James (54) and Ariful Islam saw them stitch together a commendable 77-run stand. Despite their efforts, the mounting required run rate started to put pressure on the Bangladeshi batsmen. Musheer Khan then stepped in to dismiss both well-set batsmen, and the lower order struggled to offer any significant resistance. Saumy Pandey concluded the innings with an impressive four-wicket haul, sealing Bangladesh’s fate with a challenging defeat. Earlier, opener Adarsh Singh and skipper Uday Saharan displayed remarkable resilience, each scoring a gritty half-century, to propel India to a competitive total of 251/7 against a spirited Bangladesh team in the Under-19 World Cup match at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein on Sunday. Bangladesh’s left-arm seamer, Maruf Mridha, left an indelible mark on the game, claiming an impressive five wickets for a mere 43 runs. His precision bowling, both at the start and during the crucial slog overs, consistently found the right areas. However, a miscalculation by his captain deprived him of completing his full quota of 10 overs, potentially leaving him disheartened.