Vaibhav Suryavanshi breaks another record in India’s Youth Test against England

Dubai: After making waves with the bat in the Indian Premier League Season 18 earlier this year, 14-year-old Indian prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi added another feather to his cap — this time with the ball — during the first unofficial Youth Test against England at Beckenham.

Known primarily for his aggressive strokeplay, Suryavanshi claimed his maiden Youth Test wicket with his left-arm spin, becoming the youngest Indian to take a wicket in Youth Test cricket where records are available. At 14, he broke the record previously held by Manishi, who had taken seven wickets against South Africa in 2019 — including that of Marco Jansen.

The landmark moment came late on day two. Bowling the final ball of the 45th over, Suryavanshi tossed up a low full toss, which England captain Hamza Shaikh drove aerially, only to be caught by Henil Patel at long-off. The left-arm spinner added a second when he had Thomas Rew caught behind.

India dominated the match from the outset, racking up a mammoth 540 in their first innings, built on big knocks from Ayush Mhatre (102), Abhigyan Kundu (90) and Rahul Kumar (85). Despite a brief hiccup, with three wickets falling quickly after Mhatre and Vihaan Malhotra (67) added 173 for the second wicket, India reasserted control through a 179-run fifth-wicket partnership between Kundu and Kumar.

England bowlers Alex Green, Archie Vaughan, Michael Vaughan’s son, and Jack Home claimed two wickets each, but their fielders let them down with at least four dropped catches — including two off Mhatre, who made full use of his reprieves.

In reply, England were reduced to 320 for six by stumps on day two. They lost early wickets, with Patel striking twice, but a counterattack from Shaikh and Rocky Flintoff (son of Andrew Flintoff), who added 154, briefly steadied the innings before the breakthrough from Suryavanshi.

With India firmly in control and Suryavanshi now showing glimpses of an all-round future, the young star continues to etch his name into the record books — one milestone at a time.