Teen cricket sensation hits second fastest IPL century on record

Young Indian batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi on Monday became the youngest player to hit a senior men’s T20 century* at 14 years and 32 days as he powered the Rajasthan Royals’ successful chase* against the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Suryavanshi, a left-hand batsman who became the youngest IPL debutant* on April 19, smashed 100 runs off just 35 balls to pummel the opposition attack with seven fours and 11 sixes at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

Suryavanshi went past the previous record, set by Vijay Zol of Maharashtra at 18 years and 118 days against Mumbai in an Indian domestic match in 2013.

Suryavanshi’s ton* is the second fastest in the popular T20 tournament after Jamaican Chris Gayle’s century in 30 balls for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2013.

The teenage sensation finally fell bowled* to fast bowler Prasidh Krishna for 101 off 38 balls and walked off to a standing ovation from the home crowd.

His 166-run opening stand with fellow left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal launched his team’s chase of 210. They reached the target with 25 balls and eight wickets to spare.

Jaiswal hit an unbeaten 70 and put on an unbeaten stand of 41 with stand-in-skipper Riyan Parag, who hit the winning six in his 15-ball 32.

But Suryavanshi’s performance stole the show from everything including opposition knocks from Gujarat skipper Shubman Gill, who hit 84, and Jos Buttler, who struck an unbeaten 50.

Gujarat posted 209-4 but the total did not survive Suryavanshi’s blitz*. He hit Karim Janat for three fours and three sixes in one 30-run over.

Gujarat sits third on the 10-team table with six wins from nine matches. Rajasthan’s chances of moving into the final four still hang by a thread, currently seventh with three wins and seven defeats.

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GLOSSARY

• century: when a batter scores 100 or more runs in a single innings
• chase: a team trying to score more runs than the other team in the second innings in order to win the match
• debutant: new player
• ton: the same as a century
• fell bowled: when the batter is dismissed because the ball hits the wicket, bringing their innings to an end
• blitz: amazing performance in runs

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QUICK QUIZ
1. How old is Vaibhav Suryavanshi?
2. What team does he play for?
3. In how many balls did he score his century?
4. Which record did he break?
5. Who bowled him out?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Cricket maths
There are many important statistics in this inspiring Kids News article. See if you can answer the questions below in record time. Get a partner to time you!

1. Calculate your own age in years and days
2. What was his average runs per ball?
3. How many of his runs were from fours and sixes?
4. How many years younger is Suryavanshi than the previous record holder? (Years and days)
5. How many years since the previous record for the fastest 100 was held?

Answers: 1. Different for all 2. 2.85 runs 3. 94 runs 4. 4 years, 86 days 5. 15 years

Time: allow 8 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: Mathematics, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
When Suryavanshi was only 13 was when he got signed to an Indian Premier League contract in a bidding war seeing him get $311,000 Australian dollars. He is now 14 and has been given the nickname “Boss Baby”.

How could money and fame affect a 14 year old boy? List the positives and negatives.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.

Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.

Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?

Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.