Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s storming performance in domestic cricket continues. The dashing 14-year-old set a new milestone in domestic cricket on Tuesday with his third T-20 hundred for Bihar as the first teenager in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) championship against Maharashtra.
It was his fifth T-20 match in the SMAT since his debut last year at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Then again, on Tuesday, Suryavanshi carried the load of run-scoring against a stacked Maharashtra side with another pulverising knock. The 14-year-old stormed to a 58-ball century, unleashing seven sixes and as many boundaries for his side.
He clipped a low full-toss onto his pads while on 98 and brought up his third T-20 century in style by clearing the square-leg boundary.
Only his U-19 teammate Ayush Mhatre, who has struck two successive centuries in the ongoing SMAT edition, and France’s Gustav Mackeon have recorded two T-20 centuries before turning 20.
Interestingly, all three of Suryavanshi’s T-20 centuries within 16 innings in his career have been for three different sides. The blitzkrieg of his stroke-play left the entire cricket world mesmerised when he struck a blistering 35-ball century for the Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match against the Gujarat Titans earlier this year, making him the fastest Indian centurion in the league’s history.
Last month, Suryavanshi smashed an extraordinary 32-ball century for India-A in Doha against the UAE in the tournament.
With Chris Gayle’s record of 175 well in his sights, Vaibhav eventually fell for a 42-ball 144 in just the 13th over of the T20 match. His knock included a stunning total of 15 sixes and 11 fours, a total of 26 deliveries off the 42 he faced going to or beyond the boundary, sometimes travelling well beyond the fence.
