Vaibhav Suryavanshi (left) and Ayush Mhatre during India's U19 Asia Cup 2024 match against UAE.© X/@ACCMedia1
Thirteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi lived up to the hype surrounding his rare talent as India defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 10 wickets on Wednesday to advance to the semi-finals of the U-19 Asia Cup in Sharjah. UAE opted to bat and lost wickets at regular intervals to be bundled out for 137 in 44 overs. Right-arm medium pacer Yudhajit Guha was the bowlers' favorite for India with figures of 3/15, while Chetan Sharma (2/27) and all-rounder Hardik Raj (2/28) scalped two wickets each.
India galloped home in 16.1 overs, building on unbeaten half-centuries from opening duo Suryavanshi (76 off 46) and Ayush Mhatre (67 off 51).
Suryavanshi recently turned heads at the IPL auction where he was sold to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.10 crore, becoming the youngest player to go under the hammer in the history of the league.
While left-hander Suryavanshi decorated his innings with three hits on the fence and four strokes over it, Mhatre hit four boundaries and as many sixes during his knock. The majority of the 13-year-old's sixes came from the cow corner.
India started their campaign disappointingly, losing to arch-rivals Pakistan by 43 runs in their group opener, before beating minnows Japan by 211 runs.
India will play Group B toppers Sri Lanka in the semi-finals, while Group A leaders Pakistan will play Bangladesh on Friday.
Both Pakistan and Sri Lanka remained undefeated in the group stages.
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