Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the run-machine continues red-hot form in youth cricket with 63-ball ton
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a 63-ball century against South Africa U19 in the third Youth ODI at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Wednesday, January 7.
New Delhi: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi notched up his first hundred of 2026, reaching the three-figure mark in just 63 balls against South Africa U19 in the third Youth ODI at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Wednesday, January 7.
Leading the India U19 team, Vaibhav stitched a 200-plus opening partnership with Aaron George, as the openers put the South African pacers under pressure and smashed them all over the ground.
Vaibhav struck 10 maximums and nine boundaries before getting dismissed for 127 runs (74 deliveries) in the 26th over. The 14-year-old explosive batter was looking to score a double hundred, but mistimed a pull shot against fast bowler Ntando Soni and was caught in the deep mid-wicket region.
Sooryavanshi becomes youngest U19 captain to achieve rare milestone
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became one of the youngest batters to hit five hundreds, including in India, the UAE, Australia, England and South Africa. The 14-year-old also became the youngest U19 skipper to smash a hundred in Youth ODI cricket.
Sooryavanshi, leading the U19 side in the absence of Ayush Mhatre, fell for 11 runs in the first ODI on January 3. However, he made a comeback in the second match, smashing 68 runs off 24 balls, hitting 10 maximums on January 5.
On Wednesday, Vaibhav looked to play the long innings and did not take a step back after finding his rhythm. Meanwhile, his fellow opener, Aaron George, just played the role of second fiddle for the longest time. He kept chipping away with runs and completed his century in 91 balls.
The Kerala-born batter focused on placement and consistency rather than power. He scored 118 runs off 106 balls, smashing 16 boundaries and was removed by Jason Rowles. After their dismissal, the India U19 side lost four quick wickets as middle-order batters failed to score runs.