An incredible knock from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the centerpiece of India’s record-extending sixth U-19 World Cup conquest as they beat England by 100 runs in the final in Harare. The precociously talented left-hander put on an exhibition of range-hitting, scoring 175 off just 80 balls and breaking a plethora of records enroute. While Caleb Falconer (115 off 67) came up with a valiant hundred of his own in the tall chase, India still had the game under their control for the better part before eventually coming out victors.
Granted, the pitch in Harare was prepared with the objective of a high-scoring final, but even the curators wouldn’t have expected the surface to have as many runs in it as he plundered. Hailing from the Samastipur district in Bihar, Vaibhav was on a rampage from the moment he channelized his inner Virender Sehwag to flay an overpitched tempter with zero foot movement.
Six of his monster hits came in Farhan Ahmed’s first spell as Vaibhav raised a 55-ball hundred when it mattered the most, his maiden century of the tournament, and slowed down a fraction only in the interest of the milestone before picking up the hammer and tongs again with such avarice that India’s projected score, at an optimal, read 629 at the halfway mark.
At this stage, England were carrying scrambled minds, evident through the blemishes. Ayush Mhatre was reprieved twice during the 142-run partnership with Vaibhav, first in the form of a stumping chance and later a catch drop at cover, and the groundwork also veered away from the standards livewires like Joseph Moores had set in the competition thus far. The degree of devastation that the left-right combo caused can be ascertained from the fact that India managed only 161/7 in the second half after torpedoing 250/2 in the former.
Adjudged the player of the match as well as the series for his pyrotechnics, Vaibhav dedicated his award to the people behind the scenes. ‘’Feeling really good. All the preparation, the effort from the support staff, all the games we played – the Asia Cup and the series leading up to this – everything has brought us to this moment,’’ he said. ‘’The main goal was not to take too much pressure. We focused on believing in ourselves and trusting the process we’ve been following. I’m very confident in the skill set I’ve developed. I know I can perform in big games.’’
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