With a 129-run win in the second one-day match, India Under-19s levelled the five-match series against England Under-19 1-1. While Himanshu Rana laid the foundation with a patiently compiled 58 (off 66 balls), Harvik Desai’s 75-run knock and the late onslaught by Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shiva Singh helped India set the opposition a formidable target. Shivam Mavi-led attack then pushed England on the backfoot with early blows, reducing the visitors to 40 for three. Anukul Roy (three wickets) and Co. then bowled the visitors out for 158 in 33.4 overs. After Nagarkoti gave India the first breakthrough with the wicket of Max Holden, Mavi forced an edge from George Bartlett through to the ‘keeper 27 runs later. In the next over, he dislodged Harry Brooks’ bails to give India the upper hand. “The new ball was swinging and seaming. We had practiced for it. The ball swings more at the Brabourne Stadium than at Wankhede. And it is difficult for everyone to play when the ball is pitched up. So, we had planned to pitch the ball up,” Mavi said while speaking about his first and only spell (5-1-13-2) that helped India seize the momentum. The Indian attack then continued to peg away at the opposition and the relentless efforts helped pick wickets at regular intervals. Ollie Pope was run out 40 runs later while Euan Woods hit Anukul Roy to mid-off with England on 89 for five. With half the side back in the pavilion the pressure began to mount for England. With 199 runs still needed, Tom Banton joined Delray Rawlins in the middle. The pair had taken their side past the three-figure mark when the No 7 bat was bowled by Roy. The spinner disrupted Matt Fisher’s woodwork 18 runs later.

Delary Rawlins was the next to be sent back. The middle-order batsman was adjudged lbw off Ishan Porel. The pacer followed up with the wicket of Henry Brooks 10 runs later while Abhishek Sharma wrapped up the innings by accounting for Aaron Beard. Earlier, India too had lost their first wicket early in the innings. Fisher had uprooted Prithvi Shaw’s stump which brought Shubman Gill to the crease. The No 3 bat partnered with Himanshu Rana to lay a foundation for a good total. Rana continued to impress with some crisply hit shots as he kept the scoreboard ticking. The pair had added 82 runs until Gill departed hitting Brooks towards point where Rawlins took the catch. With the score still on 102, Rana hit Fisher to silly mid-on and returned for 58 runs. Couple of overs later Priyam Garg was sent back by the England captain with India on 108 for four.

Harvik Desai then joined forces with Abhishek. The pair stitched a 46-run stand until the India captain was edged Brooks to the wicketkeeper. Roy then joined the middle-order bat in the effort of shaping the innings. The pair had taken the side to 197 when the lower-middle-order bat was sent back by Woods. Desai however continued to extend the innings and found an able ally in Nagarkoti. They ran between the wickets briskly. Speaking about his innings that helped set the visitors a formidable total, Desai said, “I needed to build the innings because the team was in a slightly difficult situation. We were focusing mostly on singles.” The batsman batted determinedly to take the team to 236. However, while on 75, he hit Fisher to mid-off with still over four overs left. Nagarkoti and Shiva Singh then unleashed the big shots. Shiva Singh (23 off 12) entertained as he swung the bat around to claim 15 runs in the penultimate over. While Shiva was sent back by Brooks in the last over, Nagarkoti remained unbeaten on 36 (off 32) as he took the team to 287 for eight.