Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes the first teenager to smash three T-20 centuries in his maiden SMAT journey
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.
Abhishek storms to a 32-ball century against Bengal in SMAT
Abhishek Sharma smashed a 32-ball century, playing for Punjab against Bengal in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Hyderabad on Sunday. Abhishek, opening the batting with Prabhsimran Singh, got to his fifty in just 12 balls, facing a Bengal bowling attack, headlined by Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep. Punjab chose to bat, and after the 16th over, they had already set a massive target for Bengal, scoring 245 runs for the loss of two wickets. And Punjab captain Abhishek Sharma looks in devastating form as he is unbeaten 144 off 48 deliveries only, hammering eight 4s and sixteen 6s with a whooping strike rate of 300! Akashdeep Singh and Pradipta Pramanik have scalped one wicket each, while Mohammed Shami’s bowling average is miserable. He has given 43 runs in 2.4 overs so far! Abhishek, the world’s number T-20 batsman according to ICC T-20 rankings, last played for India against Australia on 8th November this year in Brisbane, and he became the fastest batsman to have reached the milestone of 1000 runs. The 25-year-old batsman from Amritsar is set to be selected in the Indian team for the five-match T-20 series against South Africa next month. Abhishek faced a lot of criticism for his flop show in Punjab’s second match against Haryana, held on 28th November. He got out for just 6 runs from five balls in the 200+ run chase and then, in the super over, was dismissed for a golden duck by Anshul Kamboj.
Ayush Mhatre achieves a historic feat; breaks Rohit Sharma’s 19-year-old record in domestic cricket
Ayush Mhatre became the youngest player to score a century in T-20s, first-class cricket, and List A cricket, surpassing Rohit Sharma’s 19-year-old record. The 18-year-old struck a dazzling 49-ball century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T-20 match against Vidarbha on Friday. This maiden T20 century helped Mumbai crush Vidarbha by seven wickets at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. At 18 years and 135 days, Mhatre broke Rohit’s old mark of 19 years and 339 days. His 49-ball century included eight sixes and eight fours, showcasing his impressive performance. Adding to his eventful day, Mhatre was also named captain of India’s U19 team for the upcoming Asia Cup on the same day on Friday. Mhatre also led India during a multi-format tour of Australia in September and October. The tournament will be held in Dubai from 12th to 21st December in the 50-over format. The semifinals are scheduled for December 19, with the final set for two days later, on December 21. India will open its campaign against a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent (qualifier) on December 12, before its match against Pakistan on December 14. They will play another qualifier on 16th December.
