Bihar sets world record in Vijay Hazare Trophy

Bihar’s batters went on a record-breaking spree with teen sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi and skipper Sakibul Gani leading the carnage with the quickest hundreds to power them to a world record team total of 574/6 in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match on Wednesday. Bearing the brunt of the sustained onslaught in the plate group match was minnows Arunachal Pradesh, as Gani (128 off 40 balls) raced to his hundred in just 32 balls, the fastest by Indian in List A cricket.

This was after Suryavanshi went berserk en route to a blistering 84-ball 190, including hitting 15 sixes, while reaching the three-figure mark in just 36 balls. Wicketkeeper Ayush Loharuka too joined the party with a 116 off 56 balls but, at a venue that has already witnessed 49 fours and 38 sixes, his whirlwind knock was somewhat put to shade by the unreal batting of Suryavanshi and Gani.

With his brutal onslaught against an attack that was pedestrian in terms of quality, 14-year-old opener Suryvanshi lit up the start of the 50-over domestic tournament before his senior colleagues took over to take their team to a world record total in this form of the game. Thanks to the hundreds by the troika of Suryavanshi, Gani and Loharuka, Bihar comfortably shattered the previous record held by Tamil Nadu (506/2 also vs Arunachal Pradesh in 2022-23 season).

Suryavanshi departed the crease as the second-fastest hundred by an Indian in List A cricket, and then, Gani surpassed the record held by Punjab’s Anmolpreet Singh, who struck a 35-ball hundred against the same opposition in 2024. Besides his 15 maximums, Suryavanshi also smashed 16 fours during his stay in the middle, only three days after his failure in the final of the U19 Asia Cup against Pakistan in the UAE.

Gani hammered 10 fours and 12 sixes in all, while Loharuka clobbered 11 boundaries and eight maximums. The list of the quickest hundred in this form of the game is topped by Jake Fraser-McGurk (29 balls) for South Australia against Tasmania in the 2023-24 season and the great AB de Villiers (31 balls) for South Africa against West Indies in Johannesburg. Suryavanshi, though, now holds the record for the youngest List A centurion. Bihar chose to bat after winning to toss.

Swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan marked his comeback to the Indian team for the upcoming T20 World Cup with a 33-ball century for Jharkhand against Karnataka in an Elite Group A match in Ahmedabad. Only days after leading Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win and earning an India recall, the left-handed Kishan registered one of the fastest-ever hundreds by an Indian in the List A format to help his team post an imposing 412/9 in 50 overs. Kishan was dismissed after scoring 125 in 39 balls with seven fours and 14 sixes.