Vaibhav Suryavanshi arrived at the Under-19 Asia Cup with a reputation that precedes him. The India opener had recently smashed a breathtaking century off just 56 balls, before going on to break the Youth ODI world record for most sixes in an innings. Fresh off a sensational 171 off 95 balls against the UAE in India’s opening match of the tournament, expectations were sky-high ahead of the much-anticipated clash against Pakistan in Dubai.
The contest carried extra edge for Suryavanshi, who had been part of the India A side that suffered a group-stage defeat to Pakistan at the Asia Cup Rising Stars event earlier this year. Although the 14-year-old had scored 45 in that match, India went on to lose and were later knocked out by Bangladesh A in a Super Over in the semi-finals.
With history, form and hype colliding, all eyes were once again fixed on Suryavanshi as India faced Pakistan in the group stage of the U19 Asia Cup. However, this time, the fireworks failed to arrive.
Pakistan struck early, removing the prized wicket to trigger wild celebrations. Bowling a probing good-length delivery, Seyam extracted just enough bounce to rush Suryavanshi, who went too early into the shot. The ball ballooned off the top edge and floated straight back to the bowler, resulting in a simple return catch, a moment Pakistan knew could define the match.
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