Batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored an unbeaten 76 off just 46 balls to help India beat UAE by 10 wickets in the ACC U19 Asia Cup 2024 on Wednesday and march into the semi-finals of the competition in style.

The 13-year-old’s blistering innings at Sharjah, which started with a huge six, was reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar’s famous ‘Desert Storm’ against Australia at the 1998 Coca-Cola Cup at the same venue.

Courtesy of the thumping win against last year’s finalists, India progressed to the semi-finals of the 2024 U19 Asia Cup as the second-placed team from Group A and will face Group B toppers Sri Lanka on Friday for a place in the summit clash.

In what was a virtual do-or-die final group game for both sides, the Indian U19 cricket team did well to bowl out UAE for 137 in 44 overs after being asked to bowl first.

Right-arm seamer Yudhajit Guha picked up 3/15 in his seven overs while Chetan Sharma and Hardik Raj chipped in with two wickets each. Muhammad Rayan was UAE’s top scorer with 35.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who recently became the youngest player in history to land an Indian Premier League contract after being signed by Rajasthan Royals at last month’s IPL 2025 auction, made short work of the chase with a blistering knock, which featured three fours and six sixes.

The classy southpaw made his intentions clear from the get-go by heaving Ali Asgar over the extra cover boundary in the very first delivery he faced in the innings. The rampage continued without any respite as Vaibhav completed his half-century in just 32 balls.

The Bihar lad also closed out the match with a maximum off Uddish Suri of the first ball of the 17th over. Ayush Mhatre, with 67 off 51, played the perfect foil to Vaibhav’s destructive innings as India cruised through without losing a single wicket.

This was also Vaibhav’s first half-century of the tournament. He was dismissed for just one against Pakistan in India’s 43-run loss in the opening game before getting a start against Japan (23) but failing to convert it into a big score.

Photo: ESPNCricinfo