Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continued his impressive form leading up to the Under-19 World Cup. The left-handed young star smashed 96 against Scotland in a warm-up match on Saturday.
Sooryavanshi hit nine boundaries and seven massive sixes, maintaining a rapid scoring rate of 192.00. His innings ended on the 50th ball, just shy of a well-deserved century.
U19 World Cup 2026 Warmup: India vs Scotland – Live Score
This latest performance follows another outstanding effort earlier in the season, when Sooryavanshi scored a brilliant 127 against South Africa Under-19 in the third and final youth ODI. His innings helped India secure a dominant 3-0 series sweep over the Proteas. Sooryavanshi finished as the leading run-scorer with 206 runs from three matches
and was named Player of the Series. This achievement was even more impressive as he was captaining the side for the first time, showing maturity beyond his years.
Sooryavanshi’s remarkable form has not been limited to international youth cricket. In domestic competitions, he has been equally impressive. Representing Bihar in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored a stunning 190 against Arunachal Pradesh, marking his maiden List A century in emphatic style. While this was his first hundred in the 50-over format, his other three centuries have come in T20 cricket, demonstrating his versatility across formats. He also shone on the continental stage with a blazing 171 against UAE Under-19 during the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament in December, further enhancing his growing reputation.
In contrast, India Under-19 captain Ayush Mhatre had a quieter outing in the warm-up match against Scotland, scoring 22 runs on his return from a wrist injury. The skipper is still searching for his first youth ODI century and had a challenging Asia Cup Rising Stars campaign as well. With the World Cup approaching, he will be eager to regain his best form.
The Under-19 World Cup will get underway on January 15, with matches being held across Namibia and Zimbabwe. India will start their campaign against the USA, followed by group-stage fixtures against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
India squad for U19 World Cup:
Ayush Mhatre (c), R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, D. Deepesh, Mohamed Enaan, Aaron George, Abhigyan Kundu, Kishan Kumar Singh, Vihaan Malhotra, Udhav Mohan, Henil Patel, Khilan A. Patel, Harvansh Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi.
