England and Afghanistan produced solid all-round displays as they bagged big wins against Zimbabwe and West Indies respectively in the ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2026.
Rain forced a share of the spoils between New Zealand and USA but not before Nitesh Sudini lit up the stage with a terrific hundred for USA.
Here’s how the three games panned out:
ENGLAND TOO STRONG FOR ZIMBABWE
Zimbabwe struggled to get going after being put in to bat by England as both the openers, Nathaniel Hlabangana and Kupakwashe Muradzi, departed with just eight runs between them.
Kian Blignaut and Dhruv Patel steadied the ship for Zimbabwe with a 45-run stand. The partnership was followed by Tatenda Chimugoro combining alongside Patel for another 32 runs before the latter was dismissed.
Captain Simbarashe Mudzengerere then took the charge and carried his bat through but kept on running out of partners as Zimbabwe just about managed to cross the 200-run mark in their 50 overs, finishing with a score of 208.
Zimbabwe managed to dismiss the English openers, Ben Dawkins and Joseph Moores, cheaply but Ben Mayes and captain Thomas Rew took the attack to the Zimbabwe bowlers.
Rew (86) and Mayes (77) both remained unbeaten as England won the game comfortably by eight wickets, chasing down the target in just 28 overs, putting them on the cusp of qualification for the Super Six stage.
England’s final group game is against Scotland on Wednesday while Zimbabwe face Pakistan on Thursday.
AFGHANISTAN OVERWHELM WEST INDIES
Afghanistan opted to bat first after winning the toss and the opening batters, Khalid Ahmadzai and Osman Sadat, justified that decision with a solid 86-run stand.
Vitel Lawes broke the partnership, making way for a Windies comeback with two more wickets.
Captain Mehboob Taskin then came out to bat, joining Sadat at the crease as the duo revived the Afghanistan innings.
While Sadat scored 88, he added 77 runs in his partnership with Taskin. Led by the skipper, Afghanistan managed to post a score of 262-6 in their 50 overs.
Jakeem Pollard and Lawes grabbed three wickets each for West Indies.
Afghanistan were on the mark with the ball from the get-go, picking up three wickets in the first five overs.
For West Indies, Jewel Andrew was the lone warrior as he bagged a half-century against a persistent Afghan bowling attack, who managed to wrap up the Windies innings for 124.
Wahidullah Zadran and Khatir Stanikzai grabbed three wickets each with Nooristani Omarzai being the pick of the bowlers with four wickets in a 138-run win.
Afghanistan, now into the Super Six, face Tanzania in their next match on Wednesday with West Indies taking on South Africa on Thursday.
NEW ZEALAND AND USA SHARE THE SPOILS AFTER WASHOUT
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bowl first and came out all guns blazing, blowing the USA top order away to leave them reeling at 40-5 inside ten overs.
Shiv Shani offered the first bit of resistance as his knock of 33 slowed down the New Zealand charge, allowing USA a chance to rebuild.
Nitish Sudini who came in to bat at No 7 for USA grabbed that chance with both hands, leading the counter-attack. Stitching a 103-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Adit Kappa, he led USA across the 200-run mark.
Even after Kappa was dismissed, Sudini continued his endeavour to take USA to 253 in their 50 overs, remaining unbeaten on 117.
His knock blew new life into the USA who seemed on their knees in the first part of their innings.
While New Zealand started their innings with a bang, smashing 12 runs in the very first over, the heavens opened.
There was no further action as the game was washed out with the points being split.
New Zealand will face India next on Saturday while USA take on Bangladesh on Friday.