Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's heroics hand India sixth U19 World Cup title

An extraordinary innings from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the centerpiece of India's record-extending sixth Under-19 World Cup triumph as they beat England by 100 runs in the final in Harare on Friday (February 6). Sooryavanshi put on a never-seen-before display at this level by hammering a mind-boggling 175 that came off just 80 balls and broke aplethora of records enroute. While Caleb Falconer (115 off 67) came up with a fighting hundred of his own in the run chase, India still had the game under their control for the large parts before eventually coming out on top.

India lost their semifinal hero Aaron George very early in the fourth over when he hit one straight to backward point. But what followed over the next 20 odd overs was nothing short of a spectacle. Sooryavanshi, who was batting on 15 off 17 at one point, got himself going when he took 18 runs off an over from James Minto. Ayush Mhatre wasn't left far behind as well at the other end as he continued to deal with boundaries that pushed England back very early.

Sooryavanshi brought up his fourth fifty-plus score off just 32 balls but England were yet to feel the actual wrath. He hammered back-to-back sixes off Farhan Ahmed and targeted the bowler again for three sixes and a four in a single over to race to 96 in no time. While Mhatre departed immediately after going past fifty, Sooryavanshi eventually got to three figures by the end of the 20th over. England then had no clue what hit them as the 14-year-old went berserk and collected four fours and four sixes over the next 12 deliveries. In no time, he went past 150 and looked well set for the next landmark.

A 21-run over took him to 175 at the halfway mark and India's total swelled to 250. All hell had broken loose by then. Sky appeared to be the limit for the Indian side and for their young prodigy with another 25 overs still left in the contest. In a massive sigh of relief for England, Sooryavanshi was sent packing in the very next over after which they started to limit the damage. Vedant Trivedi and Vihaan Malhotra guided their side to 302 for 3 by the end of the 34th over but once Minto removed both the set batters, England were able to regroup.

If 250 came from the first 25 overs, only 69 were scored from the next 15. Abhigyan Kundu looked in great touch however and took on Manny Lumsden for 19 in an over but his departure gave England some hope of keeping India below the dreaded 400-run mark. More wickets fell over the next few overs but Kanishk Chouhan hit two fours and a six in the 50th over to push India beyond 400 - a total never seen before in an Under-19 knockout fixture.

England didn't go all guns blazing despite the daunting score in front of them. In fact, their openers played out a maiden each to kickstart proceedings. The first run came off the 14th delivery and the first boundary in the fourth over. That was immediately followed by two more boundaries but Joseph Moores was stopped immediately before he could carry on the good work. Ben Dawkins creamed Henil Patel for four boundaries in an over to finally get going as he was batting on 5 off 19 at one stage.

Ben Mayes welcomed Khilan Patel into the attack with a 14-run over as England finally positioned themselves up for the big chase. However, just when they were finding their feet, India struck by getting rid of Mayes for 45 to an attempted reverse-sweep. Even though Thomas Rew wasted little time to get himself in and raced to 31 off just 17, he played one shot too many that led to his downfall as well, but could also be considered a touch unfortunate. He smashed Chouhan flat but straight to Mhatre at extra-cover. However, more boundaries followed as England knocked off 171 runs from the first 20 overs but the loss of three wickets always kept them edgy. The contest was then completely done and dusted over the next two overs. Any little hope England had vapourised in a matter of 12 deliveries as England lost four wickets in stunning fashion to pretty much throw in the towel.

Mhatre brought himself into the attack and picked up a wicket which was followed by a run out two balls later and then in the very next over, Deepesh Devendran struck twice to cripple England and reduce them to 177/7. Falconer and Minto delayed the inevitable and even briefly caused a flutter with a 92-run stand for the eighth wicket. However, once the partnership was broken, India wrapped things up after Falconer rewarded himself with an excellent ton.

Brief scores: India 411/9 in 50 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 175, Ayush Mhatre 53; James Minto 3/63) beat England 311 in 40.2 overs (Caleb Falconer 115, Ben Dawkins 66; RS Ambrish 3/56) by 100 runs