New Jersey opener Amrinder Singh Gill produced USA's first century of the 2025 ICC Americas U19 World Cup Qualifier, teaming for a 135-run first-wicket stand with Sahil Garg that put USA on course for a win over Bermuda to move to 2-0. 

Photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna in Rydal, Georgia (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
Opener Amrinder Singh Gill continued his impressive form at the 2025 ICC Americas Men’s U19 World Cup Qualifier by top-scoring for the second match in a row as his century laid the platform for a total of 310 for 9, which was easily defended as offspinner Sabrish Prasad took 4 for 37 to help bowl out Bermuda U19 for 106 in a 204-run win at Param Veers Sports Complex on Sunday. Gill made 102 off 122 balls with 10 fours against Bermuda, including a 135-run opening partnership with Sahil Garg that would have been enough to beat Bermuda on its own. After a brief wobble in the middle-order, Saharsh Shwethan put an exclamation point on the innings with his second fifty at better than a run a ball to ensure USA had a comfortable total to defend. 
 
USA won the toss and chose to bat first, making two changes from their win over Canada a day earlier as Prasad and legspinner Sahir Bhatia came into the lineup for Advaith Krishna and Ansh Rai. Garg was the aggressor in the opening partnership, regularly using his feet to convert flighted deliveries from Bermuda’s spinners into full tosses, twice clubbing Callum McIntosh over midwicket for six. Just one over after the pair raised their century partnership in the 18^th over, Garg brought up his half-century in 54 balls with a four off medium pacer Isaiah O’Brien before driving the next ball for his third six. Gill brought up his 50 off 59 balls two overs later with a single before the stand ended when Garg was beaten prodding forward to offspinner Keegan Jones and bowled for 70. 
 
Utkarsh Srivastava made just 4 when he chased a wider delivery from medium pacer Callum MacFarlane and toe-edged behind with a catch well taken by captain Zeri Tomlinson standing up to the stumps to make it 150 for 2. Adnit Jhamb was then runout on a tremendous piece of hustle by Luke Horan, who dove at mid-on to knock down a straight drive from Gill that was heading to the rope for four. After slowing the ball down, Horan got up and chased to retrieve it five yards inside the rope, then fired a direct hit into the stumps at the non-striker’s end to deny Jhamb’s attempt to complete a second run as USA slipped to 160 for 3 in the 27^th. USA captain Arjun Mahesh was then given out lbw for 7 to make it 174 for 4, despite a stock ball from Jones appearing to take a deflection as well as striking high on a forward prod. 
 
The fourth wicket brought the arrival of Shwethan and for the second day in a row he shored up any nerves USA had by taking back control with Gill in a 57-run partnership, calmly collecting ones and twos to get set and continue turning over the strike to the well-set Gill. Gill’s last boundary came in the 24^th over and his final two in the 28^th as he casually stroked 24 singles in a row to bring up his century off 118 balls in the 41^st over. He fell one over later to a sparkling catch from Sa’Qui Robinson as a half-volley on the pads by medium pacer Jahmi Douglas was flicked to Robinson’s right at short fine leg where he lunged right to hold on making it 231 for 5. 
 
Nitish Sudini fell in the next over for 9, driving O’Brien flat to Jones at extra cover to make it 244 for 6. But vice-captain Shiv Shani helped reassert control for USA by smacking Douglas for six in the 45^th. Unlike his audacious start a day earlier in which he played a reverse sweep to his first ball, Shwethan played mostly orthodox cricket for his first 50 deliveries, going without a boundary that entire stretch but keeping a high strike rate by not allowing dot balls to pile up. He finally unleashed himself in the 47^th with a six off Horan to move to 49 off 51 balls. 
 
Shani ran himself out for 15 in a peculiar sequence to start the 48^th over when he drove Robinson for a catch to long-off by Jones. The umpire called a no-ball on an overstep by Robinson and Shani tried to take a second run to keep the strike for the ensuing free hit, but Jones had enough time to relay to Tomlinson behind the stumps to deny the second, making it 280 for 7. A single by Prasad put Shwethan back on strike and he promptly hit his first four to bring up 50 off 52 balls. Another four followed before he was dropped at deep square leg on the next delivery on 57. Getting back on strike for the final ball of the over, he played a reverse over backward point for his third four in an 18-run over. He capped off his innings in the 49^th with one more six off O’Brien before O’Brien dented USA’s late charge by dismissing Prasad for 3 when a top-edged slog swirled over midwicket and was held onto brilliantly by O’Brien taking an over the shoulder catch on the edge of the ring after running back from his follow-through. 
 
Shwethan fell on the first ball of the final over for 69 off 58, bowled by Horan to make it 304 for 9. The last wicket pair of Adit Kappa and Bhatia collected six runs off the remaining deliveries to ensure USA was not bowled out. Jones took 2 for 52 off his 10 overs while O’Brien ended with 2 for 59 off nine. Douglas was expensive in returning 1 for 31 off just three overs. Horan claimed 1 for 46 off seven while MacFarlane had the same figures off 10 overs. 
 
Shani took the first wicket in the field for USA, and the only one by a pace bowler as O’Brien was fooled by a change of pace and skied a drive in the ring to Srivastava at extra cover for 7 to make it 19 for 1 in the fifth. Jones then fell hit wicket for 4 in the eighth when he went too deep in his crease trying to cut a short ball from Kappa’s left arm spin and chopped the bail from off stump to make it 31 for 2. Tomlinson went softly for 2 in Kappa’s next over, pushing with hard hands at a fullish ball to give a chest high return catch to make it 33 for 3 in the final over of the Powerplay. 
 
Prasad then began his haul in the 15^th when Horan was lured forward feeling for a wider delivery outside off stump and was stumped by Mahesh for 5 to make it 46 for 4. Prasad put himself on a hat-trick to start the 17^thwhen opener MacFarlane fell for 22 following a failed charge down the wicket to drive over mid-off as Mahesh took the bails off for another stumping to make it 47 for 5. 
 
Luke Fulton survived the hat-trick ball, leaving a good length delivery alone that spun in sharply but just missed coming back enough and remained wide of off stump. Fulton then went on to team with Robinson for a 36-run stand for the sixth wicket that brought respectability back to the Bermuda innings before Kappa broke the stand to hasten Bermuda’s lower order slide. Fulton tried to play across the line to a short ball from Kappa angled into the pads that skidded low. The ball appeared to be headed past leg stump, but Kappa’s appeal was upheld to dismiss Fulton for 20 making it 83 for 6 in 26. 
 
Legspinner Bhatia struck for the first time at the start of the 29^th, getting McIntosh to drive back a simple catch at head height for a seven-ball duck to make it 92 for 7. Prasad returned to the attack after Kappa’s spell was complete and claimed two more in the 32^nd over. Robinson’s resistance after coming in at No. 6 had been productive, slamming USA’s spinners for four sixes down the ground, but he eventually fell for 34 to make it 104 for 8 when he left his stumps exposed backing away when trying to clear the leg side rope with another big heave. Three balls later, Prasad had his fourth when he darted in a quicker ball to Keyan Webb to defeat a shuffle across the line and win an lbw decision. Bermuda’s final collapse of 3 for 2 was complete when Bhatia ended play two balls into the 33^rd with a loopy legbreak that teased Xavien James into a heave across the line resulting in another Bermuda player out bowled for 1. 
 
Prasad ended with 4 for 37 in his 10 overs while Kappa returned 3 for 34 off his 10, his second day in a row with three wickets. Shani never returned after his four-over new ball spell which claimed 1 for 15 while Bhatia took 2 for 9 in 6.2 overs. Srivastava was the only other bowler used, conceding 10 off two overs. 
 
USA has an off day on Monday before returning to action against Argentina on Tuesday, who were bowled out by Canada for just 23 in a 10-wicket result in which Canada’s chase only lasted five balls.