Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Mayank Yadav impress in 35-run win in third T20I
Harare: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struck a mature 81 before pacer Mayank Yadav claimed three wickets as India completed a 3-0 clean sweep of Zimbabwe with a comfortable 35-run victory in the third and final T20I here on Sunday.
Electing to bat, India posted 192 despite losing Abhishek Sharma early. The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi curbed his natural aggression to produce a composed 49-ball 81, adding 75 runs with Ishan Kishan (29) for the second wicket and another 50 with skipper Shreyas Iyer (27).
He mixed restraint with strokeplay, reaching his second T20I half-century in 31 balls before falling 19 runs short of a deserving hundred. Rinku Singh then provided late impetus with a 14-ball 25 as India collected 47 runs in the last five overs.
Chasing 193 on a sluggish surface, Zimbabwe never recovered from an early collapse. Mayank struck with the first ball of the innings to remove Brian Bennett and finished with figures of 3/29, while Yash Thakur claimed two wickets in successive deliveries to dismiss Dion Myers and captain Sikandar Raza.
Ryan Burl fought a lone battle with an unbeaten 54 and shared a 60-run fifth-wicket stand with Wesley Madhevere (28), but Zimbabwe could only manage 157 for seven.
The series win marked a welcome turnaround for India after defeats in their previous T20I series against England and Ireland.
