Brisbane, Sep 24 (NationPress) Fueled by exceptional batting displays from Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra, and Abhigyan Kundu, alongside captain Ayush Mhatre claiming three wickets, India secured an unassailable lead in the Youth ODI series against Australia with a decisive 51-run victory at the Ian Healy Oval on Wednesday.

After being asked to bat first, Kundu led the charge with a top score of 71 runs off 64 balls, while both Suryavanshi and Malhotra made significant contributions with scores of 70 runs each, helping India set a formidable target of 300 in 49.4 overs. In response, Australia’s Jayden Draper scored a valiant 107 off 72 balls, but Mhatre's impressive bowling figures of 3-27, along with Kanishk Chouhan’s 2-50, resulted in Australia's total being restricted to 249 all out in 47.2 overs.

India faced an early challenge when skipper Mhatre was dismissed for a duck on just the second ball. Suryavanshi started slowly, managing only nine runs off his first 29 balls before finding his rhythm with a boundary and a six off seamer John James.

He soon reached his fifty with a six off Kasey Barton and finished with a score of 70 runs from 68 balls, featuring five fours and six sixes. Suryavanshi and Malhotra formed a crucial partnership of 117 runs, with Malhotra also notching 70 runs off 74 balls, including seven fours and a six.

During the innings, Suryavanshi set a new record for the most sixes in Youth ODIs, surpassing Unmukt Chand’s previous record of 38. Now aged 14, Suryavanshi has hit 41 sixes in just 10 innings, after previously establishing himself as the youngest and fastest centurion in Youth ODIs earlier this year.

Wicketkeeper Kundu provided additional momentum with a rapid 71 off 64 balls, which included five fours and two sixes, as India reached a total of 300 before being bowled out with two balls left in their innings.

In their chase, Australia fell short at 249, despite Draper forming a 112-run partnership with Aryan Sharma. Mhatre, who had a disappointing outing with the bat, made a significant impact with the ball, taking three wickets in just four overs of part-time spin. With a 2-0 lead in the three-match series, India will seek to complete a clean sweep in the final match on Friday.

Brief scores:

India 300 all out in 49.4 overs (Abhigyan Kundu 71, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 70; Will Bryom 3-47, Yash Deshmukh 2-31) beat Australia 249 all out in 47.4 overs (Jayden Draper 107, Aryan Sharma 38; Ayush Mhatre 3-27, Kanishk Chouhan 2-50) by 51 runs.