Sooryavanshi adds finesse to flamboyance to lead India's maiden whitewash over Zimbabwe in T20Is

Player of the Series Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 49‑ball 81 was the highlight of India’s 35‑run win over Zimbabwe in the third T20I in Harare on July 26, as the Shreyas Iyer‑led side inflicted a 3‑0 clean sweep on the hosts. Iyer was lucky with the coin flip and had no hesitation in opting to bat first. India made two changes, one of which was forced, as Ashok Sharma replaced fellow pacer Prince Yadav, while Suryansh Shedge came in for Shivam Dube.

Sooryavanshi looked the most mature of all his appearances for India. The southpaw played with controlled aggression and showcased reverse sweeps, a shot not usually associated with a 15‑year‑old.

It was a very un‑Sooryavanshi innings, as he picked the right balls to attack and looked calculated in his approach. For the first time in his international career, Sooryavanshi left deliveries on purpose, keeping the Chevrons guessing. Abhishek Sharma fell to Blessing Muzarabani for the third time in the series, managing just two runs, but his dismissal did not deter his opening partner.

The teenager smacked eight fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 165.30, bringing up his second consecutive fifty. He was denied his maiden international ton by Brad Evans, who produced an acrobatic effort at long‑off, diving forward to complete a spectacular catch. Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 20s but could not convert them into big scores. A 14‑ball 25 from Rinku Singh powered India to 192 for five.

As the game was played on a used wicket, the batters found it somewhat difficult to score freely.

Just like in the series opener, Zimbabwe were rocked on the first ball of their innings. Mayank Yadav got one to shape away after pitching on off‑stump, squaring Brian Bennett up and forcing him to nick to first slip.

Dion Myers added 34 with Ben Curran before Yash Thakur dismissed Myers and Sikandar Raza on consecutive deliveries in the fourth over to stall their progress. When Curran fell to Ravi Bishnoi in the eighth over, it seemed the end was near, but Ryan Burl and Wessly Madhevere steadied the innings.

Though they put together a 60‑run stand, it came off 50 balls, and Zimbabwe never looked in control of the asking rate. When Madhevere fell to Mayank after a 25‑ball 28 in the 16th over, it was just a matter of formality.

Burl (54* off 43) fought hard and brought up his fifth T20I half‑century but could only propel his team to 157 for seven. Mayank returned figures of 3/29 and was the pick of the Indian bowlers.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi showcased that he has a fine cricketing brain and is willing to iron out flaws every time he goes out to bat. Never before had Sooryavanshi exhibited so much maturity in an international match, and therefore he looks poised for plenty of success.

Turning point

The three wickets that Zimbabwe lost inside the first four overs dented their chase badly and left them behind the eight ball from there.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Shreyas Iyer (India): 

 "[Takeaways and positives] As we saw, how fearlessly they are. A young bunch of players showing tremendous energy and intent on the field. To have that kind of energy is what I demand as a captain and we saw that. Special series win. Clinical. 3-0 so it's a special one. I think if you see the record, I've played the same number of matches as all of them (laughs). They have a lot of experience thanks to the IPL. Special bunch. I try to make sure they are comfortable and relaxed. That's how you can get the best out of them. You see boys taking that responsibility and winning games, you need that. The amount of calmness that we possess and if we show the same courage going forward, it's going to be good for Indian cricket. If we keep levelling up and not think about the results... that's the message we gave to the players. It doesn't matter what situation we are facing, we just have to perform to the best of our abilities and see the team through."

Losing Captain, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe): 

"[Takeaways] A lot of them. Firstly, well done to Zimbabwe Cricket for hosting these fixtures because if we can't play top teams, we can't grow. Cricket is a lot more entertaining when everyone is playing well. Our biggest takeaway is the experience. Nyamhuri, Marumani were very good. The journey started long ago. We wanted to change things in the dressing room. We wanted to bet here for each other in success and in bad times. We wanted to die for every ball. We wanted to match the intensity of world cricket. We will have some bad days and I'm okay with that. I'll certainly try and buy a run for myself (laughs). The team has held up well without my contribution but I need to stand up and lead from the front. Hopefully when I start contributing I'll add a lot more to the team's success."