The USA secured a place in the ICC Under-19 ODI World Cup after an impressive performance in the Americas qualifiers, joining the already qualified 15 teams for the event in Sri Lanka next year. The Qualifier campaign started with a comfortable win against Bermuda but a loss to Canada opened up the qualification race. But the USA bounced back in style beating Bermuda once again and registered two wins against Argentina including a score of 515 in one match. Their final match against Canada was affected by rain and reduced to 22 overs a side. The USA managed to restrict their opponents to 92/9 and chased it comfortably to ensure qualification for the World Cup.
Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and Zimbabwe automatically qualified as the best-placed Full Member nations from the previous edition in 2022. New Zealand from the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, Nepal from the Asia Qualifier, Namibia from the Africa Qualifier, and Scotland from the Europe Qualifiers are the others to make the tournament.
The USA U-19 skipper Rishi Ramesh reckons that this is a huge moment for the national side and acknowledges the hard work that was put in by all the players who made it possible. Speaking during the post-match presentation following their win in the final, these were his exact words.
“It’s been a long journey for us in the USA and we’re finally here. We’ve made history and are proud to represent our country.”
As USA Cricket continues to cherish its extraordinary milestone, let us reflect on their memorable journey in this year’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.
Effortless Victory against Bermuda
USA U-19 played their opening game against Bermuda U-19 which they won handsomely by 7 wickets. After choosing to bowl first, USA bowlers were relentless in their onslaught. Bermuda batters were a no-show against a quality US side and were taken completely off guard.
Kush Bhalala was miserly with the ball and gave away only 18 runs in his allotted 10 overs picking up 2 wickets. The team was overall very sharp on the field as they affected three run-out dismissals. Bermuda eventually folded for a score of 163. Prannav Chettipalayam and Arjun Mahesh played handy cameos of 64 and 37 respectively and steered USA to a comfortable 7-wicket victory with 22.5 overs to spare.
Check out the brief scores using this link.
USA Slip to Canada in a low-scoring thriller
USA U-19 impressive run witnessed a momentary low during their second game against Canada U-19. Our young side were given a harsh reality check as they prepared to face the likes of Canadian bowlers Sivakumaran and Garg who inflicted damage of a colossal level on the USA batters. The duo picked up 6 wickets in total to floor USA for just 183. Chettipalayam, Mahesh, and Rishi Ramesh showed some character with the bat and scored decent scores of 26 (35), 59 (79), and 56 (63) respectively.
In response, our boys tried to pull it back with the ball during the middle overs where they pushed Canada U-19 from a strong position of 80-2 to 109-5 in the space of just 6 overs. Just like their earlier game, the boys once again showcased their brilliant fielding abilities as they affected 3 run-out dismissals. In the end, Canada U-19 barely managed to get away from the shackles by a slim margin of 2 wickets.
Check out the brief scores using this link.
USA U-19’s landslide victory blew Argentina Away
Following their close defeat against the hosts in their preceding one-day match, the USA U-19 team did something that no one could have anticipated even in their wildest dreams. Had this game been granted ODI status, USA would have gone on to shatter some long-standing records in ODI cricket. Nevertheless, our resurgent team registered a record-breaking victory of a mammoth 450 runs. Furthermore, they also managed to post an astronomically high total of 515/8 in just 50 overs. Such feats have never been achieved in men’s limited-overs cricket.
Rishi Ramesh and Bhavya Mehta were the stars who demolished a highly fragile Argentine bowling lineup with dazzling scores of 100 (59) and 136 (91) respectively. Our skipper Rishi Ramesh smashed the fastest ton ever recorded by a US batter. With an impossible target to chase, Argentina surrendered cheaply after folding for just 65 courtesy of Aarin Nadkarni who claimed brutal figures of 6/18.
Check out the brief scores using this link.
USA U-19 completes yet another clinical victory against Bermuda U-19
Bermuda U-19’s batting unit was once again demolished by a powerful USA bowling lineup sho showed no mercy. Our bowlers were ruthless in their attack as Utkarsha Srivastava, Aryan Sathesh, and Ateendra Subramanian got into their act and picked up 9 wickets to annihilate Bermuda for just 115.
At this stage of the tournament, our side was already quite battle-hardened and chasing a paltry total of 116 was just a walk in the park for our boys. Prannav Chettipalayam blasted his way to a quickfire 60 (34) as USA U-19 raced to their target inside 12 overs with 7 wickets in hand.
Check out the brief scores using this link.
Argentina goes down to a mighty USA side in another embarrassing fashion
Argentina has been at the receiving end of USA U-19’s unforgiving wrath. Their bowlers once again went for plenty but this time around they managed to keep USA U-19 below the 400-run mark. Nevertheless, they still had plenty to chase in the second innings which they couldn’t. Prannav Chettipalayam smashed yet another impressive ton scoring 137 off 104 which comprised 10 fours and 5 sixes. Besides, some useful contributions were made by Parth Patel (52 off 59), Utkarsh Srivastava (48 off 31), and Amogh Arepally (44 off 40) low down the order that helped USA end their first innings on a high with an imposing total of 364.
Argentina U-19’s lackluster show across all departments continued. The team registered 6 ducks with only one batter managing to make it to double figures. Arya Garg, Aryan Satheesh, and Aarin Nadkarni demolished the Argentine batting lineup once and for all skittling them for just 36.
Check out the brief scores using this link.
USA U-19 go on to script history; Knock Canada U-19 out of the Qualifier’s race
August 18 was the day which will be etched in the memories of USA cricket fans for generations to come. USA’s final match against Canada was affected by rain and was reduced to 22 overs a side. Amidst tricky conditions, USA U-19 could not have afforded any slip-ups. A washout would have seen Canada win the overall spoils due to their last-ball victory over the USA earlier in the tournament. However, the weather finally cleared long enough for play to begin at 3:40 pm and USA put in a dominant display to beat Canada by 7 wickets.
Batting first in difficult conditions, Canada lost early wickets and fell to 15 for three within the first six overs. After a brief recovery, the USA bowlers once more found joy, eventually restricting the home side to a modest 92 for 9 from their allotted overs. Yash Mondkar top-scored for Canada, while Utkarsh Srivastava and Parth Patel did the damage for the USA, claiming two wickets for 16 and three for 17 respectively.
In reply, the USA initiated a controlled start. Opener Prannav Chettipalayam led from the front, scoring a valuable 36 runs from 39 balls. Even though they lost wickets at the other end, and stuttered in the middle overs to 58 for three, Srivastava provided enough support with 25 not out to see the visitors over the line with four overs to spare.
The win sees the USA end Canadian dominance at U19 regional qualification stages and means they will be competing at the World Cup for the first time since 2010.
Check out the brief scores using this link.