Will Malajczuk proved to be the star performer for Australia as they handed Japan a comprehensive eight-wicket defeat in the U19 World Cup on Tuesday. The 18-year-old scored an explosive hundred to ensure that the Baggy Greens chased down the target of 202 and made it two wins from as many games in the tournament. The win saw them equal Sri Lanka's points tally in Group A at four points each.
Coming to the match, Australia put in a great bowling performance after Japan had won the toss and had chosen to bat first.Nadon Cooray and Will Byrom took three and two scalps respectively and made it very hard for the opposing batters to put runs on the board. It was a poor batting display from Japan, who lost wickets during important parts of their innings. Hugo Kelly's robusty knock of 79 runs from 135 deliveries helped them post a total of 201/8 in 50 overs.
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Though the track in Windhoek appeared to be hard for the batters, Malajczuk made things look very easy as soon as he took the crease. He opened the innings alongside Nitesh Samuel and turned the game into a completely one-sided contest. Malajczuk smashed opposing bowlers all around the Namibia Cricket Ground as the runs started flowing rapidly for the Baggy Greens. Samuel played the supporting role and gave the strike to his partner frequently.
Malajczuk plays record-breaking knock
Malajczuk went on to play the innings of his life and brought up a 51-ball century in just the 14th over. With this, he became the batter to score the fastest hundred in the history of the U19 World Cup and also the second-fastest ton in youth ODIs as a whole. He overtook Vaibhav Suryavanshi on the elite list, who has scored centuries from 52 and 56 deliveries previously.
Fastest hundreds in Youth ODIs -
1. Sameer Minhas (Pakistan) - 42 balls
2. Will Malajczuk (Australia) - 51 balls
3. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (India) - 52 balls
4. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (India) - 56 balls
5. Qasim Akram (Pakistan) - 63 balls
6. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (India) - 63 balls
7. Jayden Draper (Australia) - 65 balls
Australia win comfortably
Meanwhile, Malajczuk was eventually dismissed for 102 runs after hitting 12 boundarioes and five towering sixes. However, the damage was already done and Australia were well on their way towards the 202-run target. Samuel played a gritty knock of 60 while Tom Hogan remained unbeaten on 19 as the Baggy Greens won the match in dominant fashion. They will be facing Sri Lanka in their final group stage fixture on January 23.