Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, playing like a man in a boy's match, struck one of the greatest 100s in age-group cricket to help India win their sixth Under-19 World Cup.
A day before India start their campaign to defend the T20 World Cup at home, Sooryavanshi, whose call-up to the senior team will surely follow, produced a power-packed batting performance against England in the final at Harare on Friday.
Unperturbed by the grand stage, he smashed the ball all around the park with elan. What seemed most astonishing is the way he could middle the ball with such consummate ease and regularity.
England tried gamely but fell 100 runs short.
On a sun-kissed day, India, who opted to bat first, needed to make hay as England had several batting match-winners in their ranks. They needn't have worried as their principal batter, Sooryavanshi, already exposed to senior cricket in all three formats, tore into the English attack with power and brutality one wouldn't normally associate with a 14-year-old.
What makes him special is his ability to hit through the line while maintaining balance as well as remaining perfectly still. He married that with very fast hands to make the opposition bowlers — pacers, spinners and part-timers — regret their career choices.
While the bowling could have been better, he had multiple shots for each delivery. He had the lofted cut on the off-side, the pull shot over mid-on, a very common short in white-ball cricket these days, the pick up in front of square on the leg side as well as the full-blooded drive through covers. When the carnage was finally done, he had made a record-breaking 80-ball 175, 150 of those coming in boundaries (15x4, 15x6)..
Skipper Ayush Mhatre (53) also contributed as they finished with 411. The bowlers had to be patient in the face of some good partnerships but they eventually got the job done. With the juniors keeping their date with destiny, it's now over to the seniors to do the same in a month's time.
Though England tried to find firm footing they managed 311 losing all their wickets, thanks to a breezy 67-ball 115 by Caleb Falconer. They did bat well but in the end 411 runs were out of reach.
In short, India batted them out the moment they crossed the 400-run barrier.
No other team has dominated the U19 World Cup as India has done. This is the sixth time India won the title.