India are the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won the title five times. They enter the contest in dominant form against a USA side making a rare appearance at a global event.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre (X/ICC)
The India Under-19 team will begin their ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026 campaign today against USA Under-19 at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
At the toss, Ayush Mhatre won the coin toss and opted to bowl first, taking into account the overcast conditions, grey skies, and the possibility of rain later in the day.
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India are the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won the title five times. They enter the contest in dominant form against a USA side making a rare appearance at a global event. The Mhatre-led side are riding high after recently sweeping South Africa Under-19 in an ODI series, further underlining their strong preparations.
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India have their game faces on for the #U19WorldCup ⚡
Tournament kicks off on January 15
Pic 1. Ayush Mhatre (C)
Pic 2. R.S. Ambrish
Pic 3. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Pic 4. Abhigyan Kundu pic.twitter.com/tcSQQdZEwS— ICC (@ICC) January 14, 2026
India have previously lifted the Under-19 World Cup trophy in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, and 2022.
Ayush Mhatre affirmed his confidence in the team’s ability and said after the winning the toss:
“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.”
USA captain Utkarsh Srivastava said he was looking to bat first anyway:
“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.”
India U19 XI
Ayush Mhatre (c), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi, Vihaan Malhotra, Abighyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Pangalia, RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Khilan Patel
USA U19 XI
Sahil Garg, Amrinder Gill, Arjun Mahesh (wk), Utkarsh Srivastava (c), Ritvik Appidi, Adnit Jhamb, Amogh Arepally, Nitish Sudini, Sabrish Prasad, Adit Kappa, Rishabh Shimpi
Total matches: 1
India U19 won: 1
USA U19 won: 0
No result: 0
Where to watch the India vs USA U19 World Cup 2026 in India?
The match will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network in India. Live streaming will be available on the JioHotstar app and website.
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