India Under 19 captain Ayush Mhatre was dismissed on the first legal delivery of the second One-Day International against England Under 19 at the County Ground in Northampton. Mhatre’s off stump went cartwheeling as his defence was overcome early in the match.
Alex French, who had removed the batter in the opening ODI of the five-match series, had him for the second time in a succession.
Ayush Mhatre looked good in the series opener for his 21, but this was a significant setback for him and his team.
The back-to-back defeats to Mhatre follow some strong performances in the domestic circuit for Mumbai and Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025. The immensely gifted Mhatre had an average of 65.42 into the current game, his eighth in List A.
Batting at the top of the order, the Mumbai-born batsman enjoyed a spectacular IPL debut with CSK. He scored 240 runs in seven matches at a blistering strike rate of 188.97, with 31 fours and 11 sixes to his name. Coming in as a mid-season injury replacement for CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, he impressed with his assured and planned stroke play.
In the opening game of the series, India U-19 won comprehensively by six wickets with 156 balls remaining. The hosts were bowled out for 174 in 42.2 overs thanks to a concerted effort. In response, Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s 19-ball 48 helped the Men in Blue reach the mark in just 24 overs.
The unbeaten hitters were Abhigyan Kundu, a wicketkeeper, and Rahul Kumar. They scored an unbroken 45 from 34 and an unbeaten 17 from 25. Two of the four wickets fell to French, the same bowler who bowled a masterpiece to dismiss Mhatre in the present match.