SMAT 2025: Vaibhav’s blistering hundred in vain as Maharashtra beat Bihar by three wickets

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, just 14, once again rewrote the record books by becoming the youngest centurion in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, smashing a superb 108 off 61 balls against Maharashtra at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday.

Representing Bihar, the left-handed prodigy struck seven fours and seven sixes on his way to a landmark hundred, his first of the tournament, after previous scores of 14, 13 and 5. He brought up his maiden fifty off 34 balls before converting it into a century in 58 deliveries, the slowest of his three T20 tons so far. Remarkably, this milestone comes in only his 16th professional T20 appearance.

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However, Vaibhav’s blistering knock went in vain as Maharashtra banked on captain Prithvi Shaw’s (66) half century to knock down Bihar’s commanding 176/3 with five balls to spare.

Suryavanshi’s astonishing rise has been one of the defining stories of Indian cricket this year. Earlier in the season, he became the youngest player to debut in the IPL at 14 years and 23 days, turning out against Lucknow Super Giants. Just nine days later, he stunned the cricketing world with a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans, the fastest IPL hundred by an Indian and the second-fastest overall, behind Chris Gayle.

His prolific run continued across formats. A blazing 143 in the fourth Youth ODI of the season made him the youngest player to smash a century in U19 men’s ODIs, while also registering the fastest ton in the format. He followed it up with a century against Australia U19 in a Youth Test in Brisbane.

Most recently, Suryavanshi delivered one of the most explosive innings seen in age-group cricket, hammering 144 off just 42 balls for India A against UAE in the Rising Stars Asia Cup. His 32-ball hundred made him the youngest male cricketer to score a century for any national representative side at the senior level, breaking a 20-year-old record.