Meet Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Unknown facts about 13-year-old youngster who smashed fastest century in U-19 Tests for India

New Delhi: A four-day test match is being played between the Under-19 teams of India and Australia. On the second day of the match, India’s Under-19 team opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored a brilliant century, however, despite this the Indian team was not able to make a big lead. Vaibhav Suryavanshi has also created a new world record with this. Vaibhav has become the youngest batsman to score a century in any professional cricket match. Vaibhav scored this century at the age of 13 years 241 days. He broke the record of Bangladesh’s Nazmul Hussain Shanto. Shanto scored a century in the Youth ODI International in 2013 at the age of 14 years and 241 days. At number three is Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam, who scored a century in the Youth ODI in 2009 at the age of 15 years and 48 days.

13 YEAR OLD VAIBHAV SURYAVANSHI AGAINST AUSTRALIA U19:

– 100 in just 58 balls for India U19 in the Youth Test match…!!! pic.twitter.com/NbWW7SSz74

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 1, 2024

Let us have a look at the interesting facts about Vaibhav Suryavanshi:

1. Suryavanshi became the second youngest debutant in first-class cricket earlier this year.

This is not the first time Suryavanshi hogged the limelight. His moment of recognition came earlier this year when the stylish left-handed batter became the youngest ever in the history of the game to play first-class cricket. Suryavanshi, aged 12 years and 284 days, made his Ranji Trophy debut against Mumbai in January.

In the process, he broke Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar’s record of being the youngest to play first-class cricket. The overall record is held by Alimuddin who became the youngest first-class debutant at the age of 12 years and 73 days back in the 1942-1943 season.

2. Suryavanshi’s rise to the senior level.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s rise to the top wasn’t something that came out of the blue. He thrashed the bowlers to all corners of the park during several local tournaments in Bihar. He is a proper modern-day batter who has all the ingredients to make history at the senior level as well.

In an inter-district tournament named the Heman Trophy, Vaibhav became the top run scorer with more than 800 runs in just 8 games, eclipsing the likes of several seasoned batters from Bihar. He also batted brilliantly in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, scoring 400 runs in just five matches.

Vaibhav went on from strength to strength and the U-19 Challenger Trophy was the next big step towards his senior debut. He scored two fine half-centuries in five games and also impressed the selectors during an U-23 camp which eventually paved the way for his Ranji Trophy call-up.

3. Vaibhav’s father noticed the initial spark.

Son of a farmer, Vaibhav was just four years old when his father noticed his ward smashing plastic balls with power, which you hardly associate with someone so young. Vaibhav started his cricketing career under his father’s guidance. As time progressed, he built a small playing area in their backyard where his son could practice.

“I was inclined towards sports as a kid. My father is a farmer. He built a small playing area for me. I used to practice there. There were some kids in my neighbourhood. My father used to call them and asked them to bowl at me. That’s how it began. He used to say ‘bat-ball khelega, cricketer banega na’ (you will play with bat and ball and become a cricketer right?). He had confidence in me,” Vaibhav recalled during an interview with Times of India earlier this year.

4. Suryavanshi is the youngest to score a youth Test century.

Courtesy of his stellar century against the Australian youth team in the ongoing Test match, Suryavanshi became the youngest ever to score a century in Youth Tests. The stylish southpaw treated the Australian bowlers disdainfully and scored at an exceptional strike rate.

You hardly hear a 13-year-old kid get off the blocks so quickly in his career. While players like Sachin Tendulkar and Prithvi Shaw showed incredible talent during their early days, Suryavanshi’s age makes this record even more special. He will certainly look to make another match-winning impact in the second innings of the Test.

5. Suryavanshi idolizes Brian Lara.

Vaibhav is heavily inspired by former West Indies great Brian Lara who remains one of the most decorated batters to have ever graced the game of cricket. He has a wide collection of Lara’s batting videos.

Vaibhav has watched Lara’s incredible knock of 400 against England (Antigua 2004) innumerable times.

“My idol is Brian Lara. I watch his videos and batting style. I just love his 400 not-out innings. I have watched it several times. The best thing about him is that he doesn’t leave the match in between. He doesn’t give up. I have seen the match-winning attitude in him and this is the top most thing I want to learn from him. I just love the way he used to take the match to the end and then win it. I want to dominate the bowlers the way Lara did,” Suryavanshi said during the TOI interview.