HARARE: A sensational and measured 81 off 49 balls from teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi powered India to a formidable 192/5 in the third and final T20I against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Electing to bat first, India rode on Sooryavanshi’s calculated brilliance, as the young opener abandoned his typical all-out aggression for a more mature, paced knock. Blending power with precision, he hammered the Zimbabwean attack - whenever they erred - across the park for hitting eight fours and four sixes at a strike-rate of 165.31.
Though India fell just eight runs short of the 200-mark, Sooryavanshi’s knock has set India in a great position to clinch a 3-0 series sweep. He also shared stands of 75 and 50 with Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer before Rinku Singh provided the finishing touches with 14-ball 25. For Zimbabwe, though Brad Evans was the standout bowler with 2-41, the bowlers were majorly expensive and gave away 17 extras – 15 of which were wides.
Zimbabwe's decision to open the bowling with skipper Sikandar Raza backfired instantly as Sooryavanshi carved the first ball past short third man for four before bringing out the lofted drive for another boundary in a 17-run opening over. But Blessing Muzarabani quickly came in and reasserted his dominance over Abhishek Sharma.
For the third time in the series, the towering pacer had the opener’s number - inducing a thick edge as Abhishek attempted to smash him over cover, and an easy catch was taken by the keeper for just two. Unfazed by the early setback, Sooryavanshi muscled a hook into the parking lot off Muzarabani for six before edging him past third man for another boundary.
Sooryavanshi displayed equal dexterity against fuller balls - repeatedly opening the face of his bat to squeeze out yorkers from Newman Nyamhuri and Brad Evans through the off-side for boundaries. At the other end, Ishan Kishan settled into his groove by slicing and muscling Brad Evans for consecutive boundaries before muscling Wellington Masakadza over mid-wicket for another four.
Sooryavanshi also launched Masakadza over mid-wicket for another towering six before bringing up his second T20I fifty in 31 balls when he calmly cut Wessly Madhevere to deep point for a single. Though Kishan was castled by Raza for 29, Sooryavanshi continued to show his range - smoking Madhevere down the ground before reverse-sweeping him for another boundary.
With skipper Shreyas Iyer hammering Madhevere for consecutive boundaries, Sooryavanshi continued to dish out towering sixes, including a 102-m hit down the ground, before his attempt to go downtown again ended in Brad Evans pulling off a sensational low diving catch at long-off to finally dismiss the teenager for 81.
Though Shreyas Iyer holed out to deep mid-wicket off Brad Evans for 27, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh hit four boundaries collectively before the latter holed out to deep cover off Evans on the last ball of the innings. By then, India crossed 190-mark, thanks to Sooryavanshi’s measured blitzkrieg and 40 runs coming from overs 17-20.
Brief Scores: India 192/5 in 20 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 81, Ishan Kishan 29; Brad Evans 2-41, Blessing Muzarabani 1-33) against Zimbabwe
--IANS
