Harare: India capped off a commanding 3-0 series sweep over Zimbabwe with a convincing 35-run victory in the third and final T20I, brilliantly orchestrated by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s electrifying and destructive knock of 81, complemented by a disciplined and clinical bowling performance spearheaded by Mayank Yadav, on Sunday, July 26, at Harare Sports Club, Harare.
Batting first, India witnessed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produce a magnificent knock, narrowly missing out on a well-deserved century, as India posted a formidable 192/5 on the board. In the chase, Zimbabwe struggled against India’s disciplined and formidable bowling attack. Despite a resilient unbeaten 54 from Ryan Burl, India maintained complete control and restricted Zimbabwe to 157/7, sealing a comfortable and convincing 35-run victory.
The third and final match began with India winning the toss and electing to bat first. However, India suffered an early setback, losing the wicket of Abhishek Sharma for 2. With this dismissal, Blessing Muzarabani dismissed Abhishek Sharma for the third consecutive time in the series. However, the 15-year-old young sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, stole the show with a controlled, mature, yet aggressive innings on the slightly slow surface. He brought up his half-century in just 31 balls. With this remarkable fifty, he became the first player in men’s international cricket to register multiple scores of 50 or more before turning 16. Only Nepal’s Kushal Malla had previously recorded a 50-plus score in men’s internationals before turning 16. Sooryavanshi has now gone one step further, achieving two such scores to his name. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stitched together a valuable 75-run partnership with Ishan Kishan for the second wicket before Kishan was dismissed for 29. He then added another 50-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi batted brilliantly with excellent shot selection and showcased a phenomenal and explosive innings, scoring 81 off 49 balls, including eight fours and four sixes, at an impressive strike rate of 165.31. He missed out on a well-deserved century when Brad Evans took a superb catch off Wesley Madhevere’s bowling. Shreyas Iyer scored 27 before being dismissed in the 18th over, while Rinku Singh provided a late surge with a quickfire 25 off 14 balls. Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 11 as India finished on 192/5 after 20 overs. After Sooryavanshi’s dismissal, it appeared India would comfortably cross the 200-run mark, but the middle order was unable to accelerate enough and managed only 47 runs in the final five overs. For Zimbabwe, Brad Evans picked up two wickets, while Sikandar Raza, Wesley Madhevere, and Blessing Muzarabani claimed one wicket each.
Defending 192, Mayank Yadav provided India with the perfect start by dismissing Brian Bennett with the very first ball of the innings for a duck. With that dismissal, Mayank Yadav equalled Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Indian record of taking a wicket with the first ball of a T20I innings on three occasions. He also moved ahead of Hardik Pandya, who has achieved the feat twice. Yash Thakur then delivered a brilliant double blow, removing Dion Myers and captain Sikandar Raza in consecutive deliveries, leaving the hosts reeling at 34/3 in 3.5 overs. Ravi Bishnoi struck to dismiss Ben Curran (20) after Curran and Ryan Burl had built a brief 31-run partnership. Burl and Wesley Madhevere attempted to revive the chase with a promising 60-run partnership, but Mayank Yadav returned to the attack and dismissed Madhevere for 28. Mayank finished his spell with an outstanding 3 wickets for 29 runs in four overs, spearheading India’s bowling attack. Although India dropped four catches and committed a few fielding lapses. Ryan Burl remained unbeaten on 54 off 43 balls, but Zimbabwe eventually finished on 157/7 after 20 overs, handing India a comfortable 35-run victory in the third and final T20I.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi deservedly won the Player of the Match award for his stunning and match-defining knock of 81 and was also deservedly named the Player of the Tournament, finishing as the leading run-scorer of the series with 151 runs.
With this victory, India completed a comprehensive 3-0 series sweep and reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings. India’s remarkable 1,605-day reign at the top of the ICC Men’s T20I rankings had come to an end earlier this month following a 4-0 series defeat to England during their UK tour. However, just two weeks later, a rejuvenated Indian side led by Shreyas Iyer responded in emphatic style, producing back-to-back victories over Zimbabwe to reclaim the coveted No. 1 ranking.
