After a comfortable six-wicket win in the first Youth ODI against the England U-19 side, the Indian Colts have been handed a one-wicket loss by the home team in the last over thriller second Youth ODI at the County Ground in Northampton on Monday. Riding on captain Thomas Rew’s brilliant century, England scraped through with a narrow win to level the five-match series 1-1.
Another brisk start from young Indian prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi and multiple 40s from the middle order helped India post 290 in 49 overs after being put in to bat. England then chased down the target with three balls to spare, reaching 291 for 9 in 49.3 overs.
RS Ambrish, the medium pacer for India, took four wickets for 80 runs from his 10 overs to raise hopes of an Indian victory but the last English pair of Sebastian Morgan (20 not out) and Alex French (3 not out) survived the final two overs to give their side a win in a see-saw battle.
The home side made a shaky start in their run chase with opener BJ Dawkins (7) back in the dressing room in the second over at team score of just seven. They slumped to 46 for 2 and then to 47 for 3 in the 12th over with Ambrish taking the wickets of Ben Mayes (27) and Isaac Mohammed (11) in quick succession.
A magnificent 131 from 89 balls for Thomas Rew against India U19s today 👏
Enjoy all six sixes, some ridiculous shots in here 😍#WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/HltLaoIyU0
— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) June 30, 2025
But Rew (131 off 89 balls) and Rocky Flintoff (39) resurrected the England innings with a 123-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter got out off Kanishk Chouhan in the 33rd over. England then needed 20 runs from three overs and 12 from two but they had just two wickets in hand. Alex Green (12) fell in the first ball of the penultimate over, the third victim for Ambrish, and England needed seven runs from the final over with the last pair at the crease. England eventually crossed the line with Morgan hitting a four off the third ball of the final over bowled by Yudhajit Guha.
Suryavanshi was among the runs for the second time as he had also made 48 in India’s comprehensive win in the first match.
For England, AM French was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/71 from his 10 overs while Jack Home (3/63) and Alex Green (3/50) were among the wickets. The home side conceded 32 extras, including 26 wides.
Brief scores:
India U-19: 290 all out in 49 overs (Vaibhav Suryavanshi 45, Vihaan Malhotra 49, Rahul Kumar 47, Kanishk Chouhan 45; AM French 4/71, Jack Home 3/63, Alex Green 3/50). England U-19: 291 for 9 in 49.3 overs (Thomas Rew 131, Rocky Flintoff 39; RS Ambrish 4/80).
(With PTI inputs)
