Suryavanshi goes berserk in U19 WC final, shatters record books with a sensational century
Harare, February 6
India's rising 14-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi saved his best for the ICC Under-19 title clash against England, clocking the second-fastest ton in the history of the tournament and hitting the most sixes in a single innings during a competition.
In the title clash against England, Vaibhav tortured the bowlers with his unreal hitting, smashing 175 in just 80 balls, with 15 fours and 15 sixes, and ran away with the runs at a strike rate of 218.75. This is the highest score in the final of the U19 WC final, outdoing former Indian U19 captain Unmukt Chand, who had hit 112* against Australia in 2012. His century came in just 53 balls.
After Unmukt and Manjot Kalra (101* against Australia in 2018), Suryavanshi is the third Indian to smash a U19 WC final century. He is also the sixth overall player to achieve this feat.
Will Malajczuk, the Australian batter holds the record for the fastest century in U19 WC history, with a 51-ball effort against Japan during this edition of the tournament itself.
Also, he has outclassed Australian Michael Hill's count of 12 sixes against Namibia in the 2008 U19 WC to register the most sixes in a U19 WC inning. Suryavanshi ends the tournament with 439 runs at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 169.49, with a century and three fifties and a whooping 30 sixes, the most by a batter in a single U19 World Cup.
Sooryavanshi now has the most sixes for anyone in a Youth ODI innings (where known), surpassing his own 14 against UAE U19 at in December last year.
Coming to the match, the Indian team won the toss and elected to bat first in their bid for record-extending sixth title.
Teams: England U19 (Playing XI): Ben Dawkins, Joseph Moores, Ben Mayes, Thomas Rew(w/c), Caleb Falconer, Ralphie Albert, Farhan Ahmed, Sebastian Morgan, James Minto, Manny Lumsden, Alex Green India U19 (Playing XI): Aaron George, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Mhatre(c), Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu(w), RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Deepesh Devendran,
— ANI
Reader Comments
Only 14 years old and playing with such maturity and power! He's broken Unmukt Chand's record. Hope the media doesn't put too much pressure on him now, let him develop naturally.
15 sixes! That's just brutal hitting. The English bowlers must have had nightmares. This is the kind of fearless cricket we love to see. Well done, Vaibhav!
As a cricket fan from the UK, I have to say that was a phenomenal display. Congratulations to India and to this young man. A star is born today in Harare.
Amazing talent, but a word of caution. We've seen many U19 stars fade away. The system needs to protect him, manage his workload, and focus on his technique, not just the hype. The real test begins now.
So proud! He's from a small town and has worked so hard. This is an inspiration for lakhs of kids across India dreaming of playing for the country. Chak De India! 💙
The strike rate of 218 is just insane at any level of cricket. To do it on the biggest stage against England... wow. The IPL auction next year is going to be very interesting!