Suryavanshi smashes 15 sixes in extraordinary 144 as India thrash UAE

India's latest teenage prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi stole the spotlight once again on Friday, smashing an extraordinary 144 off just 42 deliveries to take India A to a resounding 148-run win over UAE in their opening match of the Asia Cup Rising Stars 2025.

India A piled on 297-4, the joint fifth-highest total in men's T20s, with captain Jitesh Sharma smashing an unbeaten 83 off 32 balls to close out the innings. In reply, UAE could only muster 149-7. 

Suryavanshi, already marked as one of the most exciting batting talents in the world, reached his century in only 32 balls -- the joint-second fastest by an Indian in men's T20 cricket. Only Urvil Patel and Abhishek Sharma have reached the milestone quicker for an Indian side, both getting there in 28 balls in last year's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, while Rishabh Pant had also hit a 32-ball ton for Delhi in 2018.

Suryavanshi's blistering hundred now sits jointly as the fifth-fastest in men's T20s overall. Estonia's Sahil Chauhan holds the record with a 27-ball century, followed by Patel (28 balls), Abhishek (28 balls), Turkey's Muhammad Fahad (29 balls), and Chris Gayle's iconic 30-ball IPL ton in 2013 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

At 14 years and 232 days, Suryavanshi became the youngest player to score a hundred for a national representative side at senior level, breaking a record long held by Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim, who made 111* for Bangladesh A at 16 years and 171 days in 2005.

It could all have been very different. Suryavanshi was dropped off the first ball he faced. From there, he unleashed a stunning assault, peppering the boundary with 11 fours and 15 sixes before falling in the 13th over. His strike rate of 342.85 is now the fourth-highest for a T20 score of 100 or more.

This was his second T20 century, after a 35-ball effort for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025, an innings that had already made him the youngest player to score a T20 hundred and the second-fastest centurion in IPL history behind Gayle.

"It was just my natural game," Suryavanshi said after the match. "I didn't want to change my intent. The wicket was good, the boundary was small, and we needed a big score."

He also credited his father for the discipline that has shaped his rapid rise. "Earlier I didn't understand why he was so strict," he said. "Now I can see the benefit on the ground, he kept me focused and made sure I worked hard."

Despite the growing attention on him, the teenager insisted he felt no added pressure. "There is no pressure because the fans have come to support. Once I'm on the ground, nothing else comes to mind, only the ball."