Teenaged Indian batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced a breathtaking display of power hitting on Friday, smashing the second-fastest hundred in the history of the Under-19 World Cup and reshaping the record books.

The 14-year-old opener reached his century in only 55 balls against England in the U-19 World Cup final in Harare, Zimbabwe and went on to hammer 175 off just 80 deliveries, a knock that will be spoken of long after this edition concludes.

His assault also gave him the fastest 150 in U19 cricket. He reached the milestone in 71 balls, comfortably bettering the previous record of 98 balls set by England’s Ben Mayes earlier in the tournament.

Australian Will Malajczuk still holds the record for the quickest U19 World Cup hundred with a 51-ball effort against Japan, but the young Indian came close.

Sooryavanshi’s appetite for big hits has already become one of the stories of the event. By clearing the boundary with ease, he smashed 22 sixes across this edition, overtaking South Africa’s Dewald Brevis whose tally of 18 had stood since 2022.

He had earlier struck 14 sixes against the UAE in Dubai and has now bettered his own mark for the most maximums in a Youth ODI innings.His innings at Harare comprised 15 fours and the same number of sixes essentially meaning that he scored 150 just off boundaries.

On a day when England’s bowlers looked short of answers, Sooryavanshi started briskly and only accelerated further. His first 50 took 32 balls and the next came off just 23.

The opening stand flourished as he added 142 runs in 19 overs with captain Ayush Mhatre, who made a composed 53 off 51 balls before falling soon after reaching his half-century.

At 14 years of age, Sooryavanshi has also become the youngest centurion in the tournament’s history, underlining a prodigious talent whose rise now seems destined to gather even more pace.