With an 11-ball half-century for India A in the tri-series final versus Sri Lanka A at Dambulla on Sunday, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi broke a 21-year-old record for the fastest List A fifty.
For the summit match, the 15-year-old wonderkid (94 off 29), who is scheduled to make his India debut later this month, gave it his all. Sooryavanshi broke Sri Lankan Kaushalya Weeraratne’s fastest fifty record, which he had set in 2005 with 12 balls.
With the score standing at 132, the Indian teenager was also on the verge of reaching the joint fastest List A century when he was caught at mid-off in the ninth over. Ten fours and eight sixes were part of his incredible 94 off 29 balls.
The teenage tornado smashed the Sri Lanka A assault hitting five sixes and as many fours to reach his fifty.
Sooryavanshi was determined to succeed right away after failing to score much in the league stage. He hit three fours and two sixes off his first five balls.
After the opposition placed an extra fielder on the on-side, he picked the extra cover area after targeting the leg-side off the pacers up front. Once again, the ability to knock excellent balls out of the park stood out. With two sixes off bowler Dulaj Samuditha, Sooryavanshi reached his half-century.
The high point of his innings was his three easy sixes over extra cover. Sooryavanshi was just one stroke away from matching Jake Fraser McGurk’s 29-ball century record.
His innings served as yet another testament to Sooryavanshi’s exceptional skill. The Bihar boy’s outstanding performances in the IPL earned him an India T20 call-up for the Ireland and England tour.
Sooryavanshi was sledged by a Sri Lanka A player earlier in the tri-series, which sparked a furious altercation between players from both teams in a tense league match.
