14-year-old Suryavanshi’s masterful 175 delivers India Men’s Under-19 World Cup title
Riding on Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s 80-ball 175, India crushed England by 100 runs to lift their sixth ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup.
Riding on Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s 80-ball 175, India crushed England by 100 runs to lift their sixth ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup.
Riding on Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s 80-ball 175, India crushed England by 100 runs to lift their sixth ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup.
In a class of 18 and 19 year olds, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, still officially a month shy of his 15th birthday, produced a knock of a lifetime to deliver India their sixth title in the ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup.
Suryavanshi's masterful 175 off 80, comprising 15 sixes and as many boundaries, set India on course to a heavy total of 411/9. England's reply ended at 311 in the 41st over, giving India a 100-run win. Caleb Falconer played a valiant 67-ball 115 but ended up on the losing side.
Ayush Mhatre has joined an elite list of captains to lift the Under-19 World Cup for India, starting with Mohammad Kaif (2000), followed by Virat Kohli (2008), Unmukt Chand (2012), Prithvi Shaw (2018) and Yash Dhull (2022). He scored a handy 53 in the final and, most importantly, struck a 142-run stand with Suryavanshi.
Hyderabad native Aaron George and Thrissur native Mohamed Enaan became the first Malayalis to win the Under-19 World Cup. Leg spinner Enaan only played one match in the early stages of the event, while Aaron was a regular. Aaron, whose parents are from Kottayam, scored a century in the semifinal against Afghanistan.
In 2022, India had defeated England by 4 wickets in a low-scoring final, but the present generation was never going to settle for less, especially when batting first and with the genius of Suryavanshi in the middle.
The boy from Bihar took his time, getting to fifty off 32 balls. But he needed just 23 more to reach triple digits. The 55-ball ton was the second fastest in U-19 World Cups. Australian Will Malajczuk's 52-ball ton against Japan is the fastest century in the tournament.
When he fell, caught by Rew while trying to slog-sweep Manny Lumsden, India were 251/3 in 25.3 overs. Mind you, this World Cup is played in the 50-over format.
The English players, too, were in awe of the 'boy', who had treated them with some explosive batting, and they gave him a fitting farewell with handshakes.
Suryavanshi had been in fine nick throughout the event but never scored a century. He made 72, 40, 52, 30 and 68 in the previous rounds, but tonight was when he stepped up. And what an occasion to get your highest score of the tournament!
India lost Aaron George (9), the hero from the semifinal against Afghanistan, in the 4th over.
England struggled in their chase after Khilan Patel removed Ben Mayes (45) to end a 74-run partnership for the second wicket with Ben Dawkins (66).
England lost four wickets for three runs, going from 174/3 to 177/7 before Caleb Falconer and James Minto delayed the outcome with a partnership of 92 runs for the eighth wicket. Enaan, on as a substitute, took the catch at backward point to send Minto back to the dressing room.