Indian teenager Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed a breathtaking 144 runs off 42 balls as his second Twenty20 century powered India A to a mammoth 148-run victory in their Asia Cup Rising Stars match against the United Arab Emirates in Doha on Friday.
The 14-year-old was dropped off the first ball before he left carnage in his wake, smashing 11 boundaries and clearing the rope an astonishing 15 times as he plundered 134 of his runs through fours and sixes alone.
In one remarkable over, Suryavanshi faced five deliveries and still extracted 30 runs from them.
“I didn’t think about the dropped catch. I just thought I’d back my natural game in the T20 format,” Suryavanshi said.
“I was dropped on the first ball but I decided not to change my intent because the wicket was good. The ground has short boundaries and I decided to back my shots.”
Suryavanshi shot to fame in the Indian Premier League this year when he became the youngest player to bring up a century in men’s T20 cricket in what was just his third innings.
At 14 years and 232 days, Suryavanshi has now etched his name into cricket history as the youngest player to hit a century for a men’s national team, turning what should have been a routine group match into a record-breaking spectacle.
The teenager’s assault had India A cruising toward an unthinkable 300-plus total before he was finally caught in the 13th over.
However, captain Jitesh Sharma ensured no momentum was lost, clubbing an unbeaten 83 off 32 balls as India A posted 297-4. In response, UAE could only reach 149-7 in 20 overs.
The batting prodigy had served notice of his talent in July by scoring his first century in an Under-19 one-day international, smashing 143 off 78 balls against England in Worcester.
“Life is such that this is all part of my journey,” he added.
“Whatever has happened in the past, I think about where I was playing then and where I’m playing now, I’m grateful for the chances and it feels good.”
(REUTERS)