Dubai : The Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup 2025 began with a stunning exhibition of explosive batting, as India’s 14-year-old opener, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, hit a sensational century, scoring 171 off 95 balls, against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Under-19s attack in the tournament’s first Group A match at the ICC Academy Ground on Friday.
The young southpaw’s 171 propelled the Indian team to a mammoth first-innings total of 433-6 in 50 overs.
After being invited to bat by UAE captain Yayin Rai, India U19 suffered an early hiccup when skipper Ayush Mhatre departed for four runs in the third over. This brought Suryavanshi and Aaron George together, and what followed was an innings of outright aggression.
Suryavanshi, who has been in scintillating form, played with caution before shifting gears into destructive mode. He raced to his half-century in just 30 deliveries.
The highlight of the innings was Suryavanshi’s boundary hitting. The young batter from Bihar smashed the UAE bowlers for nine fours and 14 sixes.
This remarkable display of power-hitting saw Suryavanshi etch his name into the tournament’s record books, breaking the record for the most sixes hit by a batter in a single innings of the U19 Asia Cup, previously held by Afghanistan’s Darwish Rasooli (10 sixes in 2017).
His century came off in just 56 balls. Suryavanshi was relentless, going on to complete 150 runs in just 84 balls before finally being run out on 171 off 95 deliveries, with a strike rate of 180.
Suryavanshi’s 171 is now officially the second-highest score by an Indian in a Youth ODI, falling just short of Ambati Rayudu’s 177 not out against England U19 in 2002.
While Aaron George scored 69, Vihaan Malhotra (69), Vedant Trivedi (38), Abhigyan Kundu (32) and Kanishk Chouhan (28) also helped India reach 433/6, setting UAE the target of 434.
