Vaibhav Sooryavanshi powers India to 6th U-19 World Cup title

India U-19 cricket team lifted its record sixth world title on Friday (February 6) when they thumped England U-19 by 100 runs in the final of the U-19 World Cup despite the latter's resurgent spirit at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe. Batting first, the Boys in Blue posted a mammoth 411 for 9 in 50 overs, thanks to opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's 175 off 80 balls, and bowled out the opponents for 311 in 40.2 overs.

It is India's sixth consecutive U-19 World Cup final and the first crown since 2022 when they had beaten the same opponents by four wickets. Sooryavanshi was picked as both the player of the match and the tournament in which he scored 439 runs and took a wicket.

Caleb Falconer slams brisk ton

For England, Caleb Falconer led a fightback with a brilliant 115 off 67 balls (nine fours, seven sixes) after his side faced a middle-order collapse following a decent start given by opener Ben Dawkins (66 off 56 balls; seven fours, two sixes) and No.3 batter Ben Mayes (45 off 28; seven fours two sixes).

James Minto gave him company towards the end by scoring 28 off 41 (one four), but it was always a humongous task for the chasing team to cross the line. For India, right-arm pacer RS Ambrish was the pick of the bowlers, claiming three scalps for 56. Fellow pacer Deepesh Devendran and off-break bowler Kanishk Chouhan took two wickets each.

Sooryavanshi's blazing ton

Earlier, India U-19 went for the glory from the word go as Sooryavanshi slammed a swashbuckling century, smashing several records in the process, after captain Ayush Mhatre won the toss and elected to bat. India's total of 411 is the highest in the finals of the tournament’s 28-year history.

The 14-year-old southpaw from Bihar, who has made a name for his enigmatic exploits with the bat in domestic circuits and showed his mettle in this World Cup, took only 55 balls to complete his hundred in the title round as the Boys in Blue aimed to clinch their record sixth title in their sixth consecutive final since 2016.

While Sooryavanshi’s ton was the fastest by an Indian in the U-19 World Cup, he also became the first from his country to hit a century in less than 60 balls in a U-19 World Cup clash.

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The youngster's knock was studded with 15 fours and five sixes and came at a striking rate of above 218. Among Indians, he bettered the record of Raj Angad Bawa, who had scored a century in 69 balls against Uganda in the 2022 edition of the tournament held in the West Indies.

India batter now has second-fastest U-19 WC ton

Overall, the ton saw the batter becoming the second fastest centurion in the U-19 World Cup, breaking the record of Pakistan’s Qasim Akram, who had reached the three-figure mark in 63 balls against Sri Lanka, also in 2022.

The crown for scoring the fastest U-19 World Cup hundred belongs to Australia’s Will Malajczuk, who slammed the feat in just 51 deliveries against Japan in the ongoing edition.

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Sooryavanshi now also owns the record of belting the most number of sixes in a single edition of the U-19 World Cup. He has hit 30 in the current tournament, bettering South Africa’s Dewald Brevis’s record of 18 registered in 2022.

Besides Sooryavanshi, Mhatre scored 53 in 51 balls while wicket-keeper-batter Abhigyan Kundu made 40 in 31 balls. A couple of 30s came from Vedant Trivedi and Vihaan Malhotra. For England, left-arm medium pacer James Minto was the most successful bowler with three wickets for 45 runs, while opening pacers Sebastian Morgan and Alex Green took two apiece.

Brief scores: India U-19 411/9 in 50 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 175, Ayush Mhatre 63, James Minto 3 for 63) beat England U-19 311 all out in 40.2 overs (Caleb Falconer 115, Ben Dawkins 66, RS Ambrish 3 for 66) by 100 runs