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ICC U-19 World Cup: Chaos and collapse as India pull off heist against Bangladesh

Samira Vishwas | January 18, 2026 10:24 AM CST

The victorious Indian team, after blasting Bangladesh’s last seven wickets for 22 runs to defend a revised total of 165, sprinted around the ground, leaping and high-fiving. The cameras that panned into the Bangladesh dugout saw them draped in stunned silence. The contrasting moods captured the game’s significance. It was a question of bagging points, which bolsters the winner’s progression to the Super Six stage; India have one foot in the next round. It was a matter of pride and ego too, as the teams share a hostile past and a frosty present, borne out when they refused to shake hands at the toss and at the end.

India would soak in the joy of an 18-run heist, would feel buoyed that they could sprint back from the edge. At 124 for 2, the match seemed beyond them. The seamers had expended most of their overs, the spinners could boast little magic or supreme trickery. Yet, like tenacious teams do, they found answers and heroes. Vihaan Malhotra was the last bowler captain Ayush Mhatre turned to. He has bowled only twice in his last nine games. Once when India were defending 433 against the UAE and once during a warm-up. But his off-break charm worked wonders. His second ball fetched him the wicket of Kalam Siddiki, ending a 44-run third-wicket stand. Then lightning struck twice (Sheikh Paevez Jibon), thrice (Samiun Basir Ratul) and for a fourth time (Al Fahad) too. He ended up with golden numbers of 4-014-0. Vihaan is classified as an off-spinner, but he barely turned the ball. The default ball was the yorker, or the low, flat full toss. The unspectacular methods worked spectacularly. With every wicket, chaos swept in and spiralled into anarchy, and Bangladesh were caught in an unstoppable bout of self-destruction.

The Tigers would brood on a comic meltdown. Kalam perished to a benign short ball; captain Azizul Hakim mistimed a hideous full-toss. What a cruel time for his bat to flip in his palms. Jibon thumped a length ball straight to long-on. Rizan Hossan bunted a harmless off-break to cover. Samiun Bashir would curse the stars that Vaibhav Suryavanshi had the rope-awareness to complete his catch. That was the precise moment India realised that they would not lose the game.

The DLS-adjusted target intensified the drama, too. Suddenly, they required 75 off 70 runs, a more than run-a-ball equation that injected mayhem. Bangladesh had to both sustain the run-rate as well as preserve the wickets, lest they fall behind in the DLS scheme if rain came down in sheets. Dark, sinister clouds were rolling. A darker destiny would soon descend on them. Hakim would blame the rain and DRS. “DLS came into play,” he said wryly. But he confided that they lost because of the chances they missed, on the field and then with the bat.

But the win came with points to ponder over their batting. Suryavanshi was the lone batsman who looked in control of the bowling as well as the elements. His footwork was precise, late to commit to either off, making last-minute adjustments according to the late movement of the ball. Bangladesh’s seamers coaxed late movement off the surface, not extravagant deviations but just enough to either beat the batsman or snare their edge. Vedant Trivedi just stabbed at a ball from the probing Al Fahad that shaped in and swung in a shade away. The familiar culprits screamed—hard hands, leaden feet and wobbly temperament.

The knack of seeing off the new ball on a surface affording swing has been a lost art in the T20 milieu. Impatience creeps in when they are unable to find boundaries, panic sets in, and wickets usher in. The Queens Sports Club ground was one made for the old-fashioned 50-over tunes, where openers had to trench in, blunt and accumulate the runs, before the surface eased and boundary-stroking became easier. The naturally aggressive Ayush Mhatre left or defended the first four balls, but he became fidgety, and despite stroking a gorgeous four fell to the temptations of more boundaries. Vihaan Malhotra clung on, but he perished trying to flick off-spinner Azizul Hakim bowling from over the stumps, ending a 41-run association with Suryavanshi. Another soft dismissal pulled India further into the abyss.

But common sense prevailed on Suryavanshi. Once the first powerplay ended, he put on the accumulator’s costumes, feeding on singles, doubles and the stray boundary off the loose ball. Then the boundary urges seized him, and he pulled a ball that was not short enough and miscued to the long-on fielder. Abhigyan Kundu then offered the resistance, albeit surviving numerous scares. But he exhibited the old-world virtues of grit and heart to guide India to a total they defended, albeit with moments of drama and a quintessentially Bangladeshi implosion.

Brief scores: India 238 in 48.4 overs (Abhigyan Kundu 80, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 72; Al Fahad 5/38, Iqbal Hossain Emon 2/45, Azizul Hakim 2/42) beat Bangladesh 146 in 28.3 overs (Azizul Hakim 51; Vihaan Malhotra 4/14, Khilan Patel 2/35) by 18 runs via DLS method.