Australia's left-handed batter Will Malajczuk smashed the fastest century in the history of the ICC U19 World Cup, off just 51 balls, to steer Australia to a convincing eight-wicket victory over Japan in Windhoek on Tuesday (January 20, 2026).
Chasing 202, the opener scored half of his team's runs with a stunning 102 from 55 balls to secure Australia's second win of their title defence and a place in the Super Sixes.
Having won the toss, Japan elected to bat and were led by the in-form Hugo Tani-Kelly, as he and Nihar Parmar added 58 for the second wicket before the latter was run out for 33.
Tani-Kelly, who made a century against Sri Lanka in his side's opener, batted through the rest of the innings for a knock of 79 not out from 135 balls.
Naden Cooray made inroads in the Japanese batting lineup to finish with three for 31 from 10 overs.
