admin
There is no stopping Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The 14-year-old opener created yet another record as he hit a fifty for India in the U19 World Cup against Bangladesh at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Saturday. The left-handed batter became the youngest player in the history of the tournament to score more than 50 runs. Aged 14 years and 296 days, the player from Samastipur, Bihar, is now the youngest half-centurion in the U19 World Cup, breaking the previous record held by Afghanistan’s Shahidullah Kamal, who had scored a fifty against the West Indies in 2014, aged 15 years and 19 days.
Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is in the third spot, after scoring more than 50 runs against West Indies in the 2010 edition of the tournament, aged 15 years and 92 days.
Speaking of Suryavanshi, the batter roared back into form after having a disappointing opening match of the U19 World Cup against the USA, where he scored just two runs, lasting four balls in the middle.
Against Bangladesh, Suryavanshi scored 72 runs with the help of six fours and three sixes. He kept losing wickets at the other end, but he kept ticking the scoreboard along, finally finding support in the No.5 batter Abhigyan Kundu. The two formed a 62-run stand to revive India’s innings after the Ayush Mhatre-led side was reduced to 53/3 in the 10th over.
Suryavanshi was looking set for yet another century, but he was stopped in his tracks by Iqbal Hossain Emon on the second delivery of the 27th over. The youngster supported a dejected face after losing his wicket, but had to walk back to the pavilion.
Earlier, Suryavanshi had warmed up nicely for the tournament, scoring 96 runs against Scotland in the practice game.
Bangladesh opts to bowl
The proceedings in the match between India and Bangladesh began with the latter winning the toss and opting to bowl in Bulawayo. The two skipper did not shake hands as tensions spilt over to the cricket pitch.
The political and diplomatic tensions between the two countries have risen following the killings of multiple Hindus in Bangladesh. The recent developments also saw Kolkata Knight Riders releasing Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) then wrote to the ICC, asking the apex body to shift its T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka.
