Abhigyan Kundu, the 17-year-old wicketkeeper from Mumbai, scored a 125-ball 209* during the Under-19 Asia Cup against Malaysia today (December 16).
India were sent in to bat first in Dubai, but they did not have the greatest start as skipper Ayush Mhatre departed in the second over. However, his opening partner Vaibhav Suryavanshi continued as per norm: he made a 26-ball 50 with hitting three sixes, taking his run tally to 226 in three games in the tournament.
Match 10, India Under-19 vs Malaysia Under-19
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Abhigyan Kundu scores a rapid double hundred
Suryavanishi fell when the scorecard read 87-3, with Vihaan Malhotra also getting dismissed for seven. It was a Kundu show thereafter: He needed 44 deliveries to score his first fifty, but upped the scoring rate thereafter. He took 80 balls for his hundred and needed just 41 more balls for his next hundred runs.
He reached his double ton with a four and a six in the 49th over of the innings, hitting nine sixes and 17 fours during his blistering knock that came at a strike rate of 167.
India ended their innings at 408-7, with Malaysia’s new-ball bowler Nagineswaran Sathnakumaran conceding 110 runs in ten overs.
Kundu's knock may not count as an official Youth ODI record, however. According to unconfirmed reports, only games between teams that have played in the Under-19 World Cup count as official Youth ODIs. Malaysia are yet to play in the Youth World Cup, which means Kundu's 209* is unlikely to feature in the record books.
If it had been an official Youth ODI, Kundu would have become just the second batter to score a men's double hundred in the format. Jorich Van Schalkwyk, who scored 215 against Zimbabwe in July earlier this year, holds the record. The highest score by an Indian currently in official Under-19 ODI games belongs to Ambati Rayudu, who scored 177* against England in 2002.
Kundu had earlier impressed in the Youth ODI series against Australia at Brisbane in September, where he scored 87 not out and 71 in the two games that he played. He had also struck an unbeaten 34-ball 45 against England at Hover in June. The left-hander has also made an impressive start in the longer format.
Kundu has scored 247 runs in seven innings, with the highest being 90 against England. The highlight, however, was his 46-ball 65 in the second Test, where chasing 355, India lost Suryavanshi early. His innings, along with Mhatre’s hundred, helped them draw the game.
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