The India U-19 cricket team is currently touring England ahead of a five-match Youth ODI and two-match Youth Test series beginning June 27. In preparation, the team faced an England Invitational XI in a 50-over warm-up match at Loughborough on Tuesday.
Batting first after the hosts chose to field, India had a shaky start as IPL 2025 performers Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi failed to make an impact, scoring only 18 runs combined. By the 13th over, India were reeling at 91/5. However, Kanishk Chouhan (79) and Rahul Kumar (73) provided stability, adding a crucial 140-run partnership in just 112 balls.
At 251/7 in the 36th over, Harvansh Singh Pangalia joined RS Ambrish, and what followed was a fireworks-filled partnership of 126 runs. Ambrish played a quick-fire knock of 72 off 47 balls, while Pangalia stole the spotlight with a blistering unbeaten 100 off just 52 deliveries.
After reaching his fifty off 34 balls, the 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batter unleashed an onslaught in the final overs. His second fifty came off a mere 18 balls. Pangalia hammered nine sixes, many over the leg-side boundary, including three consecutive maximums in the final over against Manny Lumsden, bringing up his century in style. He also struck a six off Matthew Firbank and capitalized on two consecutive no-balls earlier in his innings.
India U-19 ended with an imposing 442/9 on the board.
Harvansh, who also represents Saurashtra in youth domestic cricket, hails from Gandhidham in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch. His family is currently settled in Canada, where his father works as a truck driver in Brampton. This isn’t his first explosive innings—he had scored 117 runs, including seven fours and six sixes, in a youth match against Australia last October.
