India U-19 Star Harvansh Singh Blasts 52-Ball Century, Drawing Rishabh Pant Comparisons

Harvansh Singh Smashes Century Off 52 Balls, Sparks Rishabh Pant Comparisons

India U-19 wicketkeeper-batter Harvansh Singh Pangalia delivered a stunning performance in a warm-up match against England U-19, scoring a blistering century.

Harvansh Singh with his father. (Image: Special Arrangement)

Coming to the crease with the score at 251/7 in the 36th over, Harvansh Singh Pangalia partnered with RS Ambrish to forge a crucial 126-run stand. Ambrish contributed a quickfire 72 off 47 balls before his dismissal. Pangalia, already well-set on 47 off 33 balls, reached his half-century with a boundary on the very next delivery.

The final three overs witnessed an explosive display of power hitting from Pangalia. He began the 48th over with consecutive sixes off Manny Lumsden, who then compounded the pressure with two no-balls. Another six followed in the next over, this time off Matthew Firbank. However, the fireworks reached their peak in the final over. Pangalia unleashed a barrage of shots against Lumsden, hitting a four and then three consecutive towering sixes. The final six brought up his magnificent century in just 52 balls. Remarkably, his second fifty came in a mere 18 deliveries.

By the end of the innings, India had amassed a formidable total of 442/9. Pangalia remained unbeaten, having smashed nine sixes in total. The young wicketkeeper-batter, who represents Saurashtra's youth team, had previously impressed with an aggressive 117 against Australia in a Youth Test last October, where he struck seven boundaries and six sixes.

Who is Harvansh?

India U-19 wicketkeeper-batter Harvansh Singh hails from Gandhidham, a small town in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch. He was inspired by his father, Damandeep Singh, and uncle, Kunwarajeet Singh, both of whom played cricket as wicketkeepers in their town. Currently, Harvansh's family resides in Canada, where his father works as a truck driver in Brampton. Harvansh lives in Gandhidham with his mother and has vowed to bring them back to India one day.

Damandeep never imagined that a video of Yuvraj Singh's six sixes would ignite his son's passion for cricket and inspire him to represent his country.

"Even Rajkot is 200 km away from our city. It was only in 2012 when the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) opened an academy in our town. I enrolled Harvansh in it when he was six. He picked up keeping from me, as I used to don the gloves as well. But he turned southpaw because of Yuvraj Singh. He's a massive Yuvraj fan and hasn't even seen peak Yuvraj, but he was obsessed with the video of him hitting six sixes off Stuart Broad," Damandeep shared in an interview with TimesofIndia.com.