ICC U19 CWC 2022 - India Beat Uganda By 326 Runs

India U19 v Uganda U19 (Image Source: Google)

India go through as group winners to the Super League with a mammoth 326–run victory over Uganda thanks in part to the highest score of the tournament by Raj Bawa.

Raj Bawa and Angkrish Raghuvanshi powered India past several batting records as they set Uganda an insurmountable total of 405.  After captain Nishant Sindu fell for 15 in the 16th over, Raghuvanshi and Bawa worked together to add 206 runs in 22.4 overs.

Opener Raghuvanshi was eventually dismissed for 144 runs from 120 balls, Bawa would then continue to pile on the runs as Kaushal Tambe and Dinesh Bana made useful cameos.

By the time left-hander Bawa reached 150, 66 per cent of his runs had come from boundaries and at the close of the innings, he held the highest score of the tournament, surpassing the 154 not out from England’s Tom Prest, to end with 162 from 108 balls including 14 fours and eight sixes.

The overall total of 405 for five marks India’s second-highest score behind their 425 for three against Scotland in 2004, in that match Shikhar Dhawan hit 155 not out, the previous highest individual score for India at an ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.

Uganda’s challenge got even tougher as opener Isaac Ategeka was forced to retire having been struck on the forearm by a Rajvardhan Hangargekar delivery.  The right-arm seamer then dismissed his replacement Cyrus Kakuru for a first-ball duck off the final ball of an eventful first over.

Captain Pascal Murungi, who earlier took Uganda’s best figures of 3-72, batted bravely for 34 but could not stop the inevitable victory as Uganda ended on 79 for nine from 19.4 overs with Ategeka unable to retake the field.

The 326-run victory is India’s largest at an ICC Under 19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, and the second-highest ever, and sets them up for a replay of the 2020 final against Bangladesh, while Uganda will face the UAE in the plate quarter finals.