OUT!!! Henil Patel strikes early and provides India with a big breakthrough. He removes Amrinder Gill for 1 after Vihaan Malhotra grabs an excellent catch. Henil traps Gill with his amazing delivery as the ball hits the edge and travels to the second slip, where Vihaan dives forward and takes a good catch. 

USA U19 1/1 (1.3 overs)

Deepesh Devendran gives India a dominating start against USA. In the first over, Deepesh concedes just one run as USA openers Sahil Garg and Amrinder Gill play cautiously. The duo will aim for some boundaries in the upcoming overs. 

USA U19 1/0 (1 overs)

The U19 World Cup 2026 match between India and USA finally begins. For USA, Amrinder Gill and Sahil Garg have started the proceedings. The duo aim to stitch a solid opening partnership, in order to get a good start. On the other hand, Deepesh Devendran is bowling the first over for India. 

Players of both the teams are out in the middle for their respective national anthems. As there's no rain now, the match shall begin at the scheduled time without any delay. The highly anticipated moment is here at the U19 World Cup 2026 is about to kick-start. 

United States of America U19 (Playing XI): Sahil Garg, Amrinder Gill, Arjun Mahesh(w), Utkarsh Srivastava(c), Ritvik Appidi, Adnit Jhamb, Amogh Arepally, Nitish Sudini, Sabrish Prasad, Adit Kappa, Rishabh Shimpi

India U19 (Playing XI): Ayush Mhatre(c), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi, Vihaan Malhotra, Abhigyan Kundu(w), Harvansh Pangalia, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Khilan Patel

"We would have had a bat first as well. We have three spinners, three pacers, and the rest of them are pacers. It's been good. We have had tours in South Africa, West Indies, and we also came earlier here. So the preparation has been very good. 100%. We're looking forward to win this cup," said Utkarsh Srivastava. 

"We have not used to these conditions and a little bit dewy also and overcast conditions. We will try to use these conditions. The preparation is also good 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," said Ayush Mhatre. 

The cloud cover in Bulawayo is scary as India vs USA, U19 World Cup match is in jeopardy. The toss has taken place but the weather prediction is also out, calling 50-70 per cent chances of heavy rainfall throughout the day. This is not a sign for a tournament opener, especially for a player like Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who is about to play his historic match. 

India U19 skipper Ayush Mhatre wins the toss, opts to field against USA U19 in the ICC U19 World Cup, Group A match in Bulawayo. 

"The ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup Zimbabwe & Namibia 2026 is a very good platform. Hopefully in the future we will share the dressing room with each other. All the best to the Under-19 Indian team for the World Cup. Enjoy these moments, they will not come again and again in your life. It is a very good base for you all. No pressure, just bring the cup home," said Arshdeep Singh. 

Vaibhav Suryavanshi is on the verge of surpassing star India batter Virat Kohli's big feat. Suryavanshi needs just six more runs to beat Kohli in the list of batters with most runs in Youth ODIs. The 14-year-old star currently has 973 runs in 18 innings while Kohli scored 978 runs in 25 innings. 

With the opening game against USA, India's 14-year-old batting star Vaibhav Suryavanshi will achieve a historic feat. He will become the youngest player in the world to represent his country at the U19 World Cup. He will break Canada's Nitish Kumar's record, who played his U19 World Cup at the age of 15 years and 245 days in 2010. 

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Asia Cups have not been India's strongest tournaments, as they lost to Pakistan by 191 runs in a one-sided final last year and to Bangladesh Under-19 in 2024 by 59 runs. So, the big-match ability of Team India will be put to the test.

India U19 has won five series out of six, with a 3-0 clean sweep against Australia at home, a tightly fought 3-2 win over England in the UK, a 3-0 series win against Australia being the highlights. They also secured a 3-0 series win in South Africa.

Spin all-rounder Kanishk Chauhan is the leading bowler heading into the tournament, with 22 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 24.13, with best figures of 3/20. Right-arm pacer Deepesh Devendran has also done a fine job, with 15 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 27.86, with best figures of 3/16.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi is just unstoppable in his approach. So far, he has got a 38-ball century in IPL 2025 for Rajasthan Royals, the fastest 150 in men's List A cricket off 59 deliveries, and India's second-highest Youth ODI score of 171 off 95 balls. His 144 off 42 balls against the UAE in the Asia Cup Rising Stars T20 match added more weight to his glittering resume.

Indian U19 cricket team: Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra (vc), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Henil Patel, D. Deepesh, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan.

All eyes will be on the 14-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who has scored 973 runs in Youth ODIs at an average of 54.05, with three centuries and four fifties and a best score of 171. His strike rate is over 164, and he is one of the most dangerous batters heading into the tournament.

The India Under-19 team will kickstart its campaign for the record-extending sixth ICC U19 World Cup title against the USA at Bulawayo on Thursday under the captaincy of Ayush Mhatre. Team India, who lost by 79 runs to Australia in the U19 WC 2024 final courtesy a fine spell from Mahli Beardman (3/15), which restricted India to 174 all out in chase of 254, will be aiming for revenge

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the U19 World Cup 2026, opening Group A match between India and USA, straight from the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. Stay tuned for all the live updates.