A composed innings from teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and a disciplined bowling display spearheaded by pacer Mayank Yadav powered India to a 35-run victory over Zimbabwe in the third and final T20I in Harare on Sunday, sealing a 3-0 series sweep.
The clean sweep marked a welcome turnaround for India after back-to-back series defeats against England (0-4) and Ireland (0-2).
Defending 193 on a sluggish Harare Sports Club pitch, India’s bowlers kept Zimbabwe under constant pressure. Despite an unbeaten 54 from Ryan Burl, the hosts finished on 157 for seven, never quite recovering from an early collapse.
Mayank struck with the very first ball of the innings, dismissing Brian Bennett to set the tone. The fast bowler combined pace with accuracy to finish with impressive figures of three for 29. Yash Thakur added to Zimbabwe’s troubles by removing Dion Myers and captain Sikandar Raza off successive deliveries in the fourth over, reducing the hosts to 34 for three.
Burl attempted to revive the chase with a steady 60-run partnership alongside Wesley Madhevere, who scored 28. While the pair played several attacking strokes, the early wickets proved too costly for Zimbabwe to overcome. India’s fielding was less than perfect, with four catches dropped and a couple of boundaries conceded through sloppy work in the field, but the bowling unit ensured those lapses did not prove expensive.
Earlier, India also endured an early setback after electing to bat, with Abhishek Sharma dismissed for just two. The opener’s poor run continued, with his last six T20I scores now reading 10, 16, 3, 1, 8 and 2.
At the other end, however, Sooryavanshi displayed remarkable maturity in a measured 81 off 49 balls. The 15-year-old adapted to the slow surface by building his innings patiently before accelerating. He reached his second T20I half-century in 31 balls and mixed restraint with moments of brilliance, including a straight-driven boundary off a yorker from Brad Evans, a towering 102-metre six off Sikandar Raza and an inventive reverse-swept four against Madhevere.
Sooryavanshi shared a 75-run partnership with Ishan Kishan (29) for the second wicket before adding another 50 runs alongside Shreyas Iyer (27). His hopes of a maiden T20I century ended when Brad Evans produced a superb catch at long-off.
India lost momentum after the departures of Sooryavanshi and Iyer, managing only 47 runs in the final five overs. A quickfire 25 off 14 balls from Rinku Singh, however, lifted the total close to the 200-run mark, providing the platform for India’s convincing series-clinching victory.
