Sooryavanshi smashes fastest ever List A fifty off 11 balls

Dambulla, June 21 (IANS) Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed fastest fifty ever in List A cricket during India A match against Sri Lanka A in the Tri-Series final here at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday.

The 15-year-old prodigy took just 11 balls to complete his fifty, breaking Sri Lanka’s Kaushalya Weeraratne’s 21-year record of a 12-ball fifty. Opening the batting, Sooryavanshi hammered five fours and as many maximums to reach his half-century, which is also his first fifty with India A.

However, the teenage batter missed out on a record hundred when the Lankan skipper Sahan Arachchige removed him in the ninth over for 94 off 29. Sooryavanshi’s knock was laced with 10 boundaries and eight maximums.

Earlier this month, Sooryavanshi’s meteoric rise reached yet another milestone when he earned his maiden call-up to the India T20I squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England and the Asian Games 2026.

At the age of 15 years and 71 days, the left-handed opener became the youngest player to be picked for the men’s team, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s 36-year-old record.

Tendulkar made his India debut in 1989 against Pakistan at the age of 16 years and 205 days, making him the youngest Indian player ever to feature in a senior international cricket match. If Sooryavanshi features during the tour, he will also become the youngest player to debut for India in men’s international cricket.

Washington Sundar holds the record for the youngest Indian to play a T20I match. He was 18 years and 80 days old when he made his debut in the format against Sri Lanka back in 2017. Tendulkar is also the youngest Indian player in ODI cricket history, having played against Pakistan in 1989 when he was 16 years and 238 days old.

–IANS

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