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14-year-old batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi slammed the second-fastest century in Indian Premier League (IPL) history in a remarkable innings for the Rajasthan Royals.
The teenage phenom had made eye-catching cameos in his first couple of IPL games after becoming the youngest cricket to be bought at the IPL auction in December.
But Suryavanshi entered another stratosphere with an extraordinary knock of 101 off 38 balls against the Gujarat Titans in Jaipur, bringing up his ton in just 35 balls.
Only West Indies great Chris Gayle (30 balls) has ever made a faster 100 in the competition, with Suryavanshi producing the quickest innings by any Indian to reach the landmark - surpassing the 37 balls taken by Yusuf Pathan in a 2010 innings played before the youngster was even born.
Prodigious cricketing talent is not necessarily new, with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi and New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr among those to record standout international feats before their 18th birthdays.
Hasan Raza remains the youngest Test cricketer, making his debut aged 14 years and 227 days for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 1996.
Suryavanshi, who plays for Bihar domestically, had already cracked a 58-ball century in a four-day game against Australia Under-19 and also has an unbeaten 332 made in the Randhir Verma Tournament in his home state.
His innings helped set up a comfortable win for the Royals, chasing down an imposing total of 209 with several overs to spare with incumbent India Test opener Yashasvi Jaiswal making a comparatively sedate 70 from 40 balls.
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