India’s 14-year old rising star Vaibhav Suryavanshi continued his record-breaking tear in England, smashing a jaw-dropping 20-ball half-century to lead India Under-19 to a thrilling four-wicket win over England in the third Youth ODI at Northampton. The 14-year-old prodigy’s explosive 86 off just 31 balls helped India chase down 267 in a rain-shortened 40-over contest, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Suryavanshi’s Knock Rewrites Record Books
The Bihar-born batter, already the youngest IPL centurion earlier this year, unleashed nine towering sixes and six fours, scoring at an astonishing strike rate of 277.41. His 20-ball fifty is the third-fastest in India U19 history and just two balls shy of Rishabh Pant’s record 18-ball fifty from 2016. With nine sixes, he also broke the previous U19 ODI record for most sixes by an Indian, surpassing Mandeep Singh’s eight.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi had shown promise in the earlier matches with scores of 48 and 45 but went one better this time to firmly establish himself as India’s game-changer in the series.
Late Jitters, but Lower-Order Calm Seals It
Despite Suryavanshi’s heroics, India were in trouble at 199/6 before No.7 Kanishk Chouhan (43) and No.8 RS Ambrish (31*) stitched a composed partnership to take India home in 34.3 overs. Earlier, Chouhan also starred with the ball, picking up 3/30 in 8 overs after England posted 268/6, led by Thomas Rew (76) and BJ Dawkins (62).
What looked like a smooth chase nearly turned into a collapse, but the lower-order duo ensured that Suryavanshi’s stunning effort didn’t go in vain. The teams now head into the fourth ODI with India holding the momentum and a 2-1 series lead. The young Indian side is showing depth and resilience, with multiple players stepping up under pressure. All eyes will now be on Suryavanshi and company as they look to seal the series in the next match.
