Sooryavanshi fires India to ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup glory

Rakesh Thapliyal

New Delhi: A staggering century from 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fired India to ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup glory as they overcame England by 100 runs in the final.

Opener Sooryavanshi blasted 15 fours and 15 sixes in his brutal 175 from 80 balls, recording the highest individual score in the history of finals in this competition.

Captain Ayush Mhatre (53) and wicketkeeper Abhigyan Kundu (40) also made valuable contributions as India racked up 411 for nine.

England made a promising start in reply but a middle order collapse proved costly, with Caleb Falconer’s brilliant 115 in vain as India completed a record-extending sixth ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup triumph.

Sooryavanshi runs riot in Harare

India elected to bat upon winning the toss and their boy wonder did not take long to justify the decision.

Sooryavanshi lost the company of opening partner Aaron George early but quickly hit his straps, taking 18 off the ninth over – bowled by James Minto – as he sped towards a 32-ball half century.

He kept his foot on the accelerator, three sixes and a four arriving in successive deliveries off Farhan Ahmed at the end of the 17th over, while skipper Mhatre was in fine form himself during a 142-run stand.

Mhatre brought up his half-century with a straight six but fell to the next ball, giving Alex Green his second wicket.

The respite was brief, however, as Sooryavanshi completed a remarkable 55-ball century before taking 27 from a Ralpie Albert over on his way to 150.

His unforgettable knock was brought to an end on 175 when he was caught behind attempting a slog sweep off Manny Lumsden, having comfortably gone past Dewald Brevis’ record for the most sixes at an ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup. Sooryavanshi’s 15 maximums took him to 30 for the tournament, surpassing the South African’s tally of 22 from 2022.

Minto took three for 63 as England began to fight back with the ball but Kundu’s 40, along with Kanishk Chouhan’s 37 not out from 20 balls, helped take India past 400 as they recorded the highest team score of this year’s tournament.

England lost Joe Moores for 17 in the fifth over of the chase, but Ben Dawkins and Ben Mayes added 74 for the second wicket, the latter passing Sooryavanshi to finish as the competition’s leading run scorer before he was caught in the deep for 45.

Captain Thomas Rew, fresh from a match-winning century in the semi-final against Australia, followed for 31 and Dawkins’ subsequent dismissal for 66 sparked a collapse as England lost four wickets for three runs in the space of eight balls.

That left the score at 177 for seven but Falconer was in no mood to give up the fight and smashed the second superb century of the match, reaching the landmark with his sixth maximum and following up with another for good measure.

Falconer was England’s last hope as he took his side to the 40-over mark with 105 needed and just one wicket left. Two balls later, a fine diving catch from Khilan Patel from the bowling of Chouhan completed India’s victory, Falconer falling for 115 to spark wild celebrations for India’s next generation of stars.

Scores in brief

England v India – ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup final – Harare Sports Club, Harare

India 411/9 in 50 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 175, Ayush Mhatre 53; James Minto 3/63, Alex Green 2/49)

England 311 all out in 40.2 overs (Caleb Falconer 115, Ben Dawkins 66; RS Ambrish 3/56, Kanishk Chouhan 2/63)

Result: India win by 100 runs