SMAT: New high for Suryavanshi; Hardik makes waves on return

Kolkata: The 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi added another page to his growing list of achievements, becoming the youngest batter to score a hundred in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but his unbeaten 108 could not prevent Bihar’s three-wicket defeat to Maharashtra in their Elite Group B match here on Tuesday.

The supremely talented Suryavanshi hit a sparkling 61-ball 108 to set the new mark, going past Vijay Zol of Maharashtra who made a century against Mumbai in 2013 at 18 years 111 days.

Asked to bat, Suryavanshi combined power with patience, smashing seven fours and seven sixes to guide Bihar to 176 for three.

In reply, skipper Prithvi Shaw set the tone with a brutal 30-ball 66, while Niraj Joshi (30), Ranjeet Nikam (27) and Nikhil Naik (22) chipped in with crucial contributions to take Maharashtra home with five balls to spare.

Meanwhile, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya made an excellent return to competitive cricket after two months, striking an unbeaten 77 to power Baroda to a seven-wicket win over Punjab in a Group C match.

Pandya’s 42-ball knock helped Baroda surmount Punjab’s challenging 222 for eight in 20 overs, which was built around India opener Abhishek Sharma’s 19-ball 50.