West Indies kickstarted their campaign at the 2026 Men’s Under-19 World Cup with a drubbing of Tanzania for the first result of the tournament in Windhoek, Namibia.
West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl, but had to wait till the 14th over for the first breakthrough. Tanzania openers Dylan Thakrar (26) and Darpan Jobanputra (19) put on a 53-run opening stand to frustrate West Indies’ new-ball bowlers before medium pacer Jonathan Van Lange broke the stand.
Seamer Shaquan Belle, who took the catch to break the first-wicket stand, then dismissed Thakrar in the 15th over, ran number three Ayaan Shariff out in the 16th, and got Augustino Mwamele in the 19th.
The three wickets in three overs opened up Tanzania’s batting, and a procession of wickets followed.
Left-arm wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes ran through the lower-middle order for a three-wicket haul, and Tanzania folded for 122 in the 34th over.
In the chase, Tanzania’s seamer Mwamele got an early breakthrough to remove West Indies opener Zachary Carter in the fourth over. But an 80-run second-wicket partnership between Tanez Francis (52) and Jewel Andrew (44) eased the chase.
Although West Indies lost four wickets between the 17th and 20th overs for a brief stutter, the low target meant they eventually cruised to their first win in Group D with 29 overs to spare.
West Indies next play Afghanistan on January 18, followed by their final group game against South Africa on January 22. Both games will start at 03:30h.
India survive scare to beat USA
SUMMARY: India 99-4 from 17.2 overs (Abhigyan Kundu 42*; Ritvik Appidi 2-24) beat USA 107 (Nitish Sudini 36; Henil Patel 5-16) by six wickets (via DLS)
Five-time champions India began their campaign with a six-wicket win (via DLS) over United States of America, but not without a brief scare.
When right-arm quick Henil Patel‘s five-wicket haul skittled USA for 107, it looked like it would be an easy win for India. However, in a rain-affected chase, India lost three wickets- including those of captain Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi- inside the first six overs.
But Abhigyan Kundu, who hit a double-century in the Under-19 Asia Cup in the lead up to the World Cup, played an assured knock to seal the deal.
Zimbabwe and Scotland match abandoned
Zimbabwe, the tournament co-hosts, and Scotland, were left sharing a point each after no play was possible at the Takashinga Sports Club in Harare.
Zimbabwe’s next Group C opponents are England (January 18), while Scotland next face Pakistan (January 19). (ESPNcricinfo)