ICC U19 World Cup 2022: Indian colts script massive world record after crushing Uganda by 326 runs

The Bawa-Raghuvanshi show, which saw the pair add 206 runs for the third wicket, resulted in India posting 405 for five in their allotted 50 overs against Uganda.

Raj Bawa's record 162* and Angkrish Raghuvanshi's 144 set the tone before Nishant Sindhu picked four wickets to help India register a comprehensive 326-run win over Uganda in their third and final Group B fixture of the Under-19 World Cup 2022. With three wins in three games, the Indian colts topped Group B and will now contest in the quarterfinals of the tournament on January 29.

India U19 batters in action against Uganda U19 (Twitter/BCCI)

Put in to bat first, Indian openers Raghuvanshi and Harnoor Singh Pannu added 40, negating the early threats of seamers. Harnoor departed for 15 but Raghuvanshi went on to score 144 off 120 deliveries, which included 22 fours and four sixes.

Raj Bawa eclipses Shikhar Dhawan's 18-year-old feat

The 16-year-old batter played the perfect support cast to Raj Bawa, who scored unbeaten 162 to eclipse Shikhar Dhawan's 18-year-old feat. Bawa became the highest individual scorer in an innings by any India batter in the history of the tournament. Dhawan earlier held the record with his unbeaten 155 against Scotland in Dhaka in the 2004 U19 World Cup.

Big win

Two centuries and a dominant bowling display led to a thumping 326-run -- the biggest ever secured by India in Under-19 Youth ODIs. Their previous best was against Scotland at Dhaka in 2004, where the winning margin was 270 runs. It was the same contest where Dhawan had scored a record 155*. The third on the list of biggest wins (in terms of runs) for India U19s is their 245-run win over Papua New Guinea in 2014, which saw Sanju Samson scoring 85 and helping India gather 301/6 on the scoreboard. In response, PNG was all out for just 56 at Sharjah.

India's win is overall the second-highest win after Australia's 430-run win over Kenya in the 2002 edition of the Under-19 World Cup. The Aussies had posted 480 for six before bundling out Kenya for just 50 at Dunedin.

The Bawa-Raghuvanshi show, which saw the pair add 206 runs for the third wicket, resulted in India posting 405 for five in their allotted 50 overs. Stand-in skipper Nishant Sindhu led the bowling, taking four wickets and cleaning up the opposition middle-order. Earlier, pacers Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Vasu Vats struck early to jolt Uganda before Sindhu entered the picture and finished with figures of 4/19 in 4.4 overs. In-form Vicky Ostwal also added a wicket under his belt.

Before the exhaustive victory over Uganda, India had already won both their matches in the ongoing tournament, beating Ireland by 174 runs and South Africa by 45 runs.

Bawa, who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 162, expressed his delight and also labelled former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh as his idol. "I am very happy. I want to contribute to both forms of the game. I have met Yuvraj Singh who is my idol and have taken autographs," said the left-handed batter.