Dambulla (Sri Lanka): Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a score to settle with Sri Lankans after coming out second-best in the Super Over and then getting into an altercation with some of their players the other day.
Without a half-century in the A-team Tri-series despite getting quick starts in the league stage, the 15-year-old wonderkid chose to turn it on like only he can in the final against the hosts on Sunday.
Vaibhav plundered a sensational 11-ball fifty, smashing the world record for the fastest ever half-century in List A cricket.
Vaibhav erased Sri Lankan Kaushalya Weeratane’s record – 50 in 12 balls – set in 2005 playing for Ragama Cricket Club, according to Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians.
As for Indians, Sarfaraz Khan held the record, having hit a 15-ball fifty playing for Mumbai against Punjab in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Vaibhav was in the mood from the outset at the Dambulla International Stadium on a bright and sunny morning. He treated the game as a T20 contest, refusing to play a dot ball and not bothering to take singles and twos. His opening partner Priyansh Arya just watched the ball disappearing to all parts of the ground as Vaibhav smacked 5 fours and 5 sixes to reach 50.
The left-hander, who has earned the nickname ‘Universe Baby Boss’, continued in the same vein as India raced to 88/0 in 5 overs and reached 100 in 6.3 overs!
Vaibhav looked set for a record-breaking century only to hole out while going for a six when he was on 94, which came in 29 balls and included 10 fours and 8 sixes.
