India remain focused ahead of vital Pakistan match at U19WC
India captain Ayush Mhatre has sent a message of intent as they shift their attention to an U19 World Cup blockbuster against rivals Pakistan.
India continue to improve their ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup credentials, collecting a fourth-straight victory to maintain their still-perfect record at the tournament.
Their 204-run win against hosts Zimbabwe was an expression of the sheer depth of talent this team possesses. They are on the cusp of semi-finals qualification, having also notched triumphs against the USA, Bangladesh and New Zealand.
But this victory assists in having this side better conditioned for the pointy end of the World Cup; it's their first win that wasn't impacted by the DLS method and the first time they have batted the full 50 overs, scoring a blistering 352/8 which was far too many runs for Zimbabwe to chase down.
India complete clinical win against Zimbabwe | Match Highlights | U19 CWC 2026
India climb atop the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026 Super Six Group 2 table with a complete win against Zimbabwe.
Vihaan Malhotra was a standout Player of the Match choice, scoring 109* off 107 including seven fours, coming in during the 11th over and batting right through from there.
india's score of 352 is the fourth-largest total posted at the World Cup so far.
Captain Ayush Mhatre, who took three wickets of his own, was quick to credit the role Malhotra had played earlier with the bat.
"(Vihaan has been) really doing well," Mhatre said post-game.
"(When we were touring before the World Cup) he was doing really well, he is really confident and we are also really confident that he's batting really well and that he is doing good work for the team."
Vihaan's match-winning century | POTM Highlights | U19 CWC 2026
Vihaan Malhotra struck the first hundred from India at ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026 which won him the Aramco POTM award.
Mhatre (3/14 off four overs), Udhav Mohan (3/20 off 6.4) and R.S. Ambrish (2/19) ensured India made quick work of their time in the field, giving the team plenty of confidence and ambition to make a deep World Cup run.
"This match was really nice for us, the boys were really doing well and we'll try to carry this momentum forward," Mhatre added.
Mhatre's double-wicket over | U19 CWC 2026
Ayush Mhatre strikes with the ball as India close in on a comprehensive win against Zimbabwe at the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026.
And it only gets bigger from here. Depending on other results, India may have already secured a spot in the final four, depending on England's upcoming match against New Zealand.
But given India's next opponent is rival Pakistan, there will be no holding back. They intend on not being distracted by the outside noise and staying laser focused on the task at hand.
"The boys are really excited for the match, we'll just play our game, not really worry about our opponents that we are playing against, (we'll) just play our game and back our game," Mhatre noted.
