India lead series after Suryavanshi’s heroic knock

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi continued his rich vein of form by smashing a record nine sixes as India defeated England by four wickets in the rain-truncated third U19 Youth ODI to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series here.

The 14-year-old Suryavanshi, who had come close to striking half-centuries in the previous two games before getting dismissed in his 40s, finally made his innings count as he clobbered the home team bowling on way to 86 off just 31 deliveries as India chased England's 268/6 in 34.3 overs on Wednesday.

Suryavanshi's knock was studded with six boundaries and nine maximums.

In fact, nine sixes by Suryavanshi is the highest number of maximums hit by an Indian batter in an U-19 ODI eclipsing the previous record of eight sixes by Mandeep Singh.

India suffered a slump in the middle overs with the team reduced to 199 for 6 in the 24th over.

But bowling all-rounder Kanishk Chouhan (3/30), who had taken three England wickets earlier, hit an unbeaten 43 (42 balls) and shared an unbroken 75-run stand with RS Ambrish (31 not out) to guide the team to victory.

Suryavanshi ravaged every single bowler that bowled to him and made his intentions clear when he smacked right-arm pacer Sebastian Morgan for two consecutive sixes in the third over.

Morgan came in for some harsh punishment again in his subsequent over when he was hit for two more sixes and a boundary by the 14-year-old batting sensation, who has been on a roll since showing his precocious talent in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals.

England left-arm pacer James Minto bore the brunt of Suryavanshi's fury in the sixth over, going for 23 runs, which included three sixes and a boundary.

When Suryavanshi was finally dismissed, caught by Joseph Moores off right-arm pacer Alexander Wade, India had wiped off 111 runs from the target in only the eighth over.

Suryavanshi's departure saw India struggle a bit in the middle overs before Kanishk and Ambrish played with caution to guide the team home with 33 balls to spare.

Earlier, England skipper Thomas Rew smashed an unbeaten 76 (44 balls) while opener Ben Dawkins struck form with a fine 62 as the hosts scored a competitive 268 for 6 after the match was delayed due to a wet outfield.

Dawkins, a right-handed batter, following two successive below-par scores, gave England the start they needed after they were put in to bat by the visitors on an overcast day.

Dawkins and his left-handed opening partner Isaac Mohammed (41 off 43 balls) displayed immense calm playing the moving ball as they stitched together a 78-run partnership at the top to give the hosts the start they needed.

Isaac's dismissal did not slow the flow of runs as the next batter in Ben Mayes played an almost run-a-ball innings scoring 31 (32) to guide England to 133/2 by the 22nd over.

The 55-run partnership for the second wicket between Dawkins and Mayes really gave the home team the momentum, which was later capitalised by skipper Rew as he launched into the Indian bowling attack by playing some cracking shots that left the visitors searching for ideas.

Brief scores: England U-19: 174 all out in 42.2 overs (Isaac Mohammed 41, BJ Dawkins 62, Ben Mayes 31, Thomas Rew 76 not out, Ralphie Albert 21; Kanishk Chouhan 3/30) lost to India U-19: 274 for 6 in 34.3 overs (Vaibhav Suryavanshi 86, Vihaan Malhotra 46, Rahul Kumar 27, Kanishk Chouhan 43 not out, RS Ambrish 31 not out; Alexander Wade 2/58).