India’s teenage phenom Vaibhav Suryavanshi turned the Harare Sports Club into his personal playground on Friday, smashing a historic 175 off 80 balls to lead India to its sixth ICC Under-19 World Cup title. Despite a spirited counter-attack by England’s Caleb Falconer, India’s gargantuan total of 411/9 proved insurmountable, resulting in a 100-run victory.
The 14-year-old Suryavanshi, already an IPL icon, produced the greatest individual performance in an ICC global final at any level. After a watchful start (10 runs off 13 balls), the left-hander unleashed a barrage of boundaries that left England "scratching their heads."
Suryavanshi reached his century in just 55 balls, which is just the second-fastest in U19 World Cup history, and then accelerated even further, taking only 16 more deliveries to cross 150.
His 175-run masterclass featured 15 fours and 15 sixes, meaning 150 of his runs came from boundaries alone.
This score shattered the previous record for the highest individual score in a U19 World Cup final, held by Unmukt Chand (111)* since 2012.
While the middle order endured a mini-collapse after Suryavanshi’s departure in the 26th over, India still managed to post the highest team total in a U19 World Cup final.
Ayush Mhatre (53 off 51) provided stability in a 142-run partnership that allowed Suryavanshi to dominate.
Abhigyan Kundu (40 off 31) and Kanishk Chouhan (37* off 20) ensured India crossed the 400-mark, a psychological blow that all but ended the contest before the second innings began.
Chasing a world-record 412, England started brightly with Ben Dawkins (66) and Ben Mayes (45), but a disastrous middle-order collapse of 4 wickets for 3 runs in nine balls derailed their pursuit.
Caleb Falconer produced a magnificent 115 off 67 balls, refusing to let the game drift. Alongside James Minto, he put on a 92-run stand that briefly worried the Indian camp.
R.S. Ambrish (3/56) broke the partnership with a well-aimed bouncer. England was eventually bundled out for 311 in 40.2 overs.
