India’s Under-19 cricket team has taken a commanding 2-0 lead against Australia Under-19 in their 3-match ODI series, setting the stage for a potential clean sweep. Amidst the team’s success, Vaibhav Suryavanshi has emerged as a player to watch, with a chance to shatter a record that has been held by Pakistan for the past 24 years. The third and final Youth ODI of the series offers Suryavanshi his last shot at breaking this record.
The record involves the youngest batsman to score a century in Australia. It was established in December 1997 when Pakistan’s 19-year-old opener, Hasan Raza, achieved this feat in an Under-19 ODI on Australian grounds.
Suryavanshi is the second youngest to score a century in Under-19 ODIs globally, having accomplished it at the age of 14. The world record is held by Thomas Zohrab of New Zealand, who scored a century in an Under-19 ODI at the age of 11 years and 361 days. This particular focus is on the record in Australia, where Suryavanshi is poised to achieve a remarkable feat.
Hasan Raza, a fellow opening batsman, played an unbeaten innings of 100 runs in Melbourne, making him the youngest century scorer in Australia. Suryavanshi, also an opener, is currently in excellent form. Considering his age and performance, if he manages to score a century in the upcoming third ODI against Australia Under-19, he will claim the record that has been held by the Pakistani player for so long.
In the current series against Australia Under-19, Suryavanshi has scored 108 runs at an average of 54 with a strike rate of 120. In the second ODI, he scored 70 runs.