Vaibhav Suryavanshi: A century in Jaipur that lit up a village in Bihar

Patna: The lights of Sawai Mansingh Stadium were still flickering on the TV sets when fireworks erupted nearly 1,200-km away in a sleepy corner of Bihar’s Samastipur district. With his ton in Jaipur, Vaibhav Suryavanshi had awakened his native village Motipur, which erupted in wild celebrations.
The celebrations continued at Samastipur’s Patel Ground, where Vaibhav once trained as a kid. For the children in Motipur, he is already a legend. “I want to be like him,” said Adarsh, a Class V student, imitating Vaibhav’s batting style in a local park.

“His father gave up everything so Vaibhav could play. He even left his job to support him,” said Rajiv Kumar Suryavanshi, Vaibhav’s uncle. “His mother woke up at 3 am every day to cook for him. She hardly slept. The sacrifice that is paying off now.”

The family’s joy was echoed by the teen’s grandmother, Usha Singh: “Vaibhav used to say, ‘Dadi, watch me, I’ll strike sixes.’ Look at him now. If his grandfather were alive, he would be proud.”
Neighbours poured into the modest home of Sanjeev and Aarti Suryavanshi. “It feels like a dream,” Vaibhav’s father, Sanjeev, said. A cricketer himself once, Sanjeev had sold a piece of land to build a small practice strip. He even relocated to Patna to ensure proper coaching.