The 15-year-old Indian batting prodigy, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, has etched his name into cricket history by scoring a half-century in just 11 balls during a 50-over match. This extraordinary feat now stands as the fastest fifty ever recorded in ‘List A’ cricket. Suryavanshi achieved this milestone playing for India ‘A’ against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the final of the triangular series held today in Dambulla, Sri Lanka.
The tri-series featured the ‘A’ teams of the host nation Sri Lanka, India, and Afghanistan. Suryavanshi’s record-breaking performance follows an earlier, more controversial encounter with the same opponents. During a match against Sri Lanka on 15 June—which India ultimately lost—the young cricketer faced substantial criticism after physically shoving Sri Lankan player Bishen Halambage. However, in today’s final, he responded with his bat, taking apart the host nation’s bowling attack to reach fifty in unprecedented time.
Breaking a 20-Year-Old Record
By reaching his half-century in 11 deliveries, Suryavanshi shattered the long-standing record previously held by Sri Lankan cricketer Kaushalya Weeraratne. Weeraratne had smashed a 12-ball fifty in 2005. To put the longevity of the previous record into perspective, Suryavanshi, who was born in the Indian state of Bihar, was not even born when Weeraratne set the milestone; his birth occurred approximately six years after that historic day in 2005.
During his 11-ball blitz, Suryavanshi managed to score boundaries off 10 of the deliveries he faced, consisting of five boundaries and five sixes, while facing only a single dot ball.
The statistical details of Suryavanshi’s historic innings are structured in the table below:
| Innings Metric | Statistical Details |
| Player Name | Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Age: 15) |
| Match Context | Tri-series Final: India ‘A’ vs Sri Lanka ‘A’ (Dambulla) |
| Balls to Reach 50 | 11 balls (New List A World Record) |
| Boundaries to 50 | 10 scoring shots (5 Fours, 5 Sixes) |
| Dot Balls Faced to 50 | 1 dot ball |
| Final Score / Balls | 94 runs off 29 balls |
| Total Fours in Innings | 10 fours |
| Total Sixes in Innings | 8 sixes |
| Dismissal Method | Caught at mid-off by Sahan Arachchige |
Dismissal Just Shy of a Century
Following his record-breaking half-century, Suryavanshi looked set to convert his blistering start into the fastest-ever century. However, his explosive innings was cut short just six runs away from the milestone. Attempting another big shot off the bowling of Sahan Arachchige, he lofted the ball directly to mid-off, where he was caught out.
Suryavanshi departed the crease having scored a remarkable 94 runs from just 29 deliveries. His entire innings concluded with a total of 10 fours and 8 sixes. Although he narrowly missed out on a well-deserved century, his 11-ball half-century stands as an official new benchmark in limited-overs cricket.