Vaibhav Suryavanshi creates history, smashes fastest youth test century in Australia

India’s youngest batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi continues to set new milestones in his short but remarkable career. The 14-year-old opener scripted history on Wednesday by blasting a century off just 78 balls during the first Youth Test against Australia U19 at the Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane.

Suryavanshi, who opened India’s reply after Australia were bowled out for 243 on day one, went on to score 113 runs from 86 deliveries. His knock included nine boundaries and eight towering sixes. He reached his hundred in emphatic fashion hitting a six followed by a four off consecutive balls.

This innings makes him the youngest player ever to score a Youth Test century in Australia at just 14 years and 188 days. His century is also the fastest by any batter in Youth Tests on Australian soil, surpassing Liam Blackford’s previous record of 124 balls set in January 2023.

Globally, Suryavanshi’s 78-ball ton is the second-fastest in Youth Test history, only behind teammate and captain Ayush Mhatre, who struck a century in 64 deliveries against England U19 earlier this year.

Suryavanshi’s rise has been meteoric. Earlier this year in England, he became the youngest cricketer to register a fifty and take a wicket in the same Youth Test before breaking Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s record. He has now also matched former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum’s feat of scoring two U19 Test centuries in fewer than 100 balls.

This is not the first time the teenager has grabbed headlines. In the IPL earlier this year, Suryavanshi smashed a whirlwind century off just 35 balls, the fastest by an Indian in the league’s history and the second-quickest overall.