India U-19 kick off their tour of South Africa with a nine-wicket win over the hosts

India U19 team touring South Africa, defeated the hosts by 9 wickets, getting a 1-0 lead in the three-match Youth One Day International series. The match that took place in London saw the two sides putting their best into the game, but in the end, it was the visiting team that had the last laugh.

The match started with the South African captain winning the toss and choosing to bat first. But, he would have definitely regretted this decision later as the Indian bowling attack, led by Ravi Bishnoi, ripped through the South African batting line-up. South Africa managed to score 187 runs in the 48.3 overs they played before being bowled out. The highest scorer in the innings was recorded by Luke Beaufort, who played a gritty knock of 64 runs off 91 deliveries.

While for India, Ravi Bishnoi with three wickets to his name was the top performer, followed by Kartik Tyagi, Shubhang Hegde and Atharva Ankolekar- all three of whom chipped in with their contribution of two wickets each.

India were dominant in the first match of the series

What followed was a complete demolition of the South African bowling attack by the two Indian openers. Divyansh Saxena and Tilak Varma who started the proceedings for India with the bat, stitched together a partnership of 127 runs. After Saxena’s dismissal, things did not ease out for South Africa at all.

The next man in, Kumar Kushagra also came in all guns blazing right from the start. With his quick-fire knock of 43 runs, along with Divyansh who hit, 86 runs, India got past the target with 9 wickets in their hands and still 45 balls to spare.

After a match that was completely dominated by India, it would be interesting to see how will the Protean side bounce back into the series in the second match. The second match of the series will be played on the same venue, Buffalo Park, East London, on the 28th of December. If South Africa are unable to beat India here, the visitors would gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

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