Dubai: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s blistering 171 off 95 balls powered India U19 to a commanding 234‑run victory over UAE U19 in their Asia Cup opener at the ICC Academy on Friday.
Apart from Suryavanshi’s spectacular knock, Aaron George (69) and Vihaan Malhotra (69) contributed with crucial half-centuries. Vedant Trivedi (38), Abhigyan Kundu (32) and Kanishk Chouhan (28) provided the finishing touches to India U19 posting a massive 433/6, the highest score in tournament’s history.
It’s also India’s highest total in U19 ODIs and the third‑highest ever score in men’s U19 one‑day cricket. Suryavanshi’s knock was laced with nine fours and 14 sixes coming at a strike rate of 180. He brought up his half-century in 30 balls, before getting his century in just 56 deliveries and reaching his 150 in 84 balls.
His 14 sixes are the most by any batter in the tournament’s history, going past Afghanistan’s Darwish Rasooli who struck 10 against UAE in 2017. In reply, UAE made 199/7 in 50 overs, with Uddish Suri’s unbeaten 78 and Prithvi Madhu’s fifty being the lone resistance acts for the hosts. India U19 will next face Pakistan U19 in their group stage clash on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Pakistan U19 launched their campaign with a crushing 297‑run win over Malaysia at The Sevens Stadium. Centuries from Ahmed Hussain and debutant Sameer Minhas powered the side to 345/3 before the bowlers bundled Malaysia out for just 48 in 19.4 overs.
Minhas was the star of the show with an unbeaten 177 off 148 balls, striking 11 fours and eight sixes to claim the Player of the Match honour. He shared a mammoth 293‑run stand with Hussain, who made 132 off 114 deliveries, and ensured Pakistan’s dominance from the outset.
Malaysia never recovered from early blows in the chase, as Ali Raza struck with the new ball to finish with 3-11, while Mohammad Sayyam also took three wickets and Daniyal Ali Khan and Niqab Shafiq chipped in to complete a resounding win for Pakistan U19.
Brief Scores: India U19 433/6 in 50 overs (Vaibhav Suryavanshi 171, Vihaan Malhotra 69; Yug Sharma 2-75, Uddish Suri 2-77) beat UAE U19 199/7 in 50 overs (Uddish Suri 78 not out, Prithvi Madhu 50; Deepesh Devendran 2/21, Henil Patel 1/31) by 234 runs
Pakistan 345/3 in 50 overs (Sameer Minhas 177 not out, Ahmed Hussain 132; Nagineswaran Sathnakumaran 2-91) beat Malaysia 48 all out in 19.4 overs (Deaaz Patro 9; Ali Raza 3-11, Mohammad Sayyam 3-27) by 297 runs
(IANS)
