Chennai: Canada's Indian-origin batter Yuvraj Samra became the youngest to score a hundred in the T20 World Cup's history when the 19-year-old smashed a career-best 65-ball 110 against New Zealand in a Group D match here on Tuesday.

The youngster, who was named after Indian swashbuckler Yuvraj Singh by his cricket fan father Baljit Samra, was playing in only his 19th T20 International since making his debut in March last year.

Samra struck 11 fours and half a dozen sixes during his whirlwind knock, which became the foundation of his team's 173-run total against the higher-ranked opponents.

He was dismissed in the final over while attempting another big hit against Jacob Duffy.

His innings is also the highest individual score for an Associate teams' batter in the biennial showpiece.

The record for the fastest hundred in the T20 World Cup was previously held by Pakistan's Ahmed Shehzad, who was 22-year-old when he touched the milestone in 2014. 

He was dismissed in the final over while attempting another big hit against Jacob Duffy.

His innings is also the highest individual score for an Associate teams' batter in the biennial showpiece.

The record for the fastest hundred in the T20 World Cup was previously held by Pakistan's Ahmed Shehzad, who was 22-year-old when he touched the milestone in 2014.