Indian cricket team will kick off their title defence against Bangladesh in the third match of the ICC U19 World Cup 2024 on Saturday. Bloemfontein's Mangaung Oval hosts the crucial Group A game with both teams looking for a positive start to their campaign.
India, five-time champions, will be led by in-form batter Uday Saharan with the likes of Arshin Kulkarni and Saumy Kumar Pandey among players to watch out for. Indian young guns suffered a defeat when they played against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup semi-final game last month.
Bangladesh are in fine form after winning the U19 Asia Cup last month and defeating mighty Australia in the recent warm-up game. They have won two of the last four encounters against the India U19 team so fans can expect a thrilling encounter at Mangaung Oval on Saturday.
Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein Pitch Report
Mangaunga Oval's pitch offers a balanced surface in 50-over cricket with both batters and bowlers getting some help throughout the game. The average first innings score here is 248 with teams batting first winning 15 of 25 matches. Ireland and USA are playing on a similar surface in the opening game of the tournament on Friday, so, spin bowlers might be able to get some turn on a used surface on Saturday.
Mangaung Oval Records and Stats
Total ODI Matches: 35
Matches won batting first: 15
Matches won bowling first: 18
Average first innings score: 248
Average second innings score: 205
Highest total scored: 399/9 by England vs South Africa
Highest score chased: 347/5 by South Africa vs England
Lowest total recorded: 78/10 by Zimbabwe vs South Africa
Lowest total defended: 203/6 by Australia vs South Africa
India U19 squad: Uday Saharan (c), Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Aravelly Avanish Rao, Saumy Kumar Pandey, Murugan Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan, Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Raj Limbani and Naman Tiwari
Bangladesh U19 squad: Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby (c), Ashiqur Rahaman Shibli, Jishan Alam, Chowdhury Md Rizwan, Adil Bin Siddik, Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Boranno, Ariful Islam, Shihab James, Ahrar Amin, Sheikh Parvez Jibon, Rafi Uzzaman Rafi, Rohanat Doullah Borson, Iqbal Hasan Emon, Wasi Siddiquee, Maruf Mridha
