India’s teenage sensation, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, on Sunday gave Pakistan a fierce first taste of his brute power-hitting, treating their attack with fearless aggression in a high-octane Group B clash at the Asia Cup Rising Stars in Doha. However, his fiery burst, laced with five boundaries and three sixes, seemed destined for a statement half-century before he fell short, leaving him visibly frustrated at the missed milestone.

Suryavanshi had announced himself in the Asia Cup tournament with a stunning knock of 144 runs in India’s tournament opener earlier this week against the UAE at the same venue. On Sunday, he continued his sublime form to smash 45 runs in 28 balls, which included a boundary in the first ball of the innings. En route to his knock, he forged a 30-run opening stand with fellow opener Priyansh Arya, a 49-run partnership for the second wicket with Naman Dhir, during which India raced to 50 for one at the end of the powerplay, before adding 12 more runs together with Jitesh Sharma for the third wicket.

Suryavanshi’s onslaught ended on the penultimate ball of the 10th over when he fell agonisingly short of clearing long-on. Aiming to hit Sufiyan Muqeem’s delivery straighter, the left-hander dragged it slightly, allowing Mohammad Faiq, who was still in motion as the ball dipped, to hold a composed catch. The third umpire spent several minutes checking whether the boundary cushion had shifted, but after multiple replays, the decision stood and Suryavanshi was given out. The youngster was left frustrated at his own dismissal as he slammed the ground with his bat on his way out to the dugout.

Following his dismissal, India incurred a collapse, losing five wickets in a space of the next 48 balls for just 41 runs.

The match against Pakistan is India’s second game in the Rising Stars Asia Cup tournament. India had earlier defeated the UAE by 148 runs, riding on Suryavanshi’s blistering knock. He had brought up the triple-figure mark in just 32 balls to record the joint second fastest T20 hundred by an Indian batter. Rishabh Pant had notched up a similar score back in 2018 for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh.