Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards after India completed a 3-0 T20I series sweep over Zimbabwe in Harare. The 15-year-old opener scored 81 off 49 balls in India’s 35-run victory in the third and final match.
Sooryavanshi finished as India’s leading run-scorer in the series with 151 runs from three innings. The series brought Sooryavanshi his first international Player of the Match award and his maiden Player of the Series honour, according to the Times of India report.
Sooryavanshi scores 151 runs across three innings
Sooryavanshi recorded two half-centuries in the series, including a 50 off 19 balls in the opening T20I and an 81 off 49 balls in the final match.
| Match | Runs | Balls | Boundary details |
|---|---|---|---|
| First T20I | 50 | 19 | 4 fours, 4 sixes |
| Second T20I | 20 | 9 | Not specified |
| Third T20I | 81 | 49 | 8 fours, 4 sixes |
Sooryavanshi reached his fifty in 18 balls during the first match. The opener then registered his second T20I half-century in the series finale before falling 19 runs short of a century.
Opener says his approach remained unchanged
Sooryavanshi said he retained his attacking T20 approach after stepping up to international cricket and focused on giving India a strong start in each match.
“My game is the same as what I play in T20 cricket. I was just trying to do that for the team. In all three matches, I tried to give the team a good start. If I got a good start, then I wanted to make the innings bigger. That was my only approach,” Sooryavanshi said.
Sooryavanshi also credited India’s preparation and the support he received from the captain and coaches. The opener said his previous experience of playing the Under-19 World Cup at the venue helped him enjoy the conditions in Harare.
Supplemental editorial cricket visual for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi claims series award after India sweep Zimbabwe.
“What I do in practice, I try to replicate it in the match as well. Dream come true, my first Player of the Match and Player of the Series!” Sooryavanshi added.
India defend 192 to complete clean sweep
India posted 192/5 after electing to bat at Harare Sports Club and then restricted Zimbabwe to 157/7, completing a 35-run win in the third T20I.
Sooryavanshi led India’s innings with 81, while Ishan Kishan scored 29 and captain Shreyas Iyer added 27. Rinku Singh finished unbeaten on 25 from 14 balls. Zimbabwe bowler Brad Evans returned 2/41.
Mayank Yadav dismissed Brian Bennett with the first ball of Zimbabwe’s chase. Yash Thakur then removed Dion Myers and Sikandar Raza in the fourth over to leave the hosts under early pressure.
Ryan Burl made an unbeaten 54 from 43 balls and Wessly Madhevere contributed 28, but Zimbabwe lost wickets regularly and could not reach India’s total. Mayank Yadav took three wickets, Yash Thakur claimed two, and Ravi Bishnoi and Ashok Sharma collected one each.
The victory gave Shreyas Iyer his first T20I series win since taking over the India captaincy and confirmed India’s third successive win of the series.
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