India finally ends seven-match winless streak under captain Shreyas IyerZimbabwe were defeated by 7 wickets in the first T20I in Harare on Thursday. The match also saw teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi write history by becoming the youngest T20I scorer in half a century.After winning the toss, Iyer elected to bowl first and India’s pace attack justified the decision with a clinical performance.
Mayank Yadav makes a stunning comeback
Mayank Yadav made an immediate impact as he returned to international cricket for the first time since October 2024 after recovering from a stress fracture. The fast pacer dismissed Brian Bennett with the first ball of the match and then Dion Myers, always at speeds in excess of 145km/h.Zimbabwe fell to 26/3 in the powerplay and further fell to 32/4 after Shivam Dube dismissed skipper Sikandar Raza.The fighting partnership between Wessly Madhevere (39) and Ryan Burl (26) and Tadiwanashe Marumani’s unbeaten 27 off 20 helped the home team chase 125/7 in the allotted 20 overs. Debutant Ashok Sharma recovered well after an expensive first over, while Ravi Bishnoi finished economically with 1/24.
Suryavanshi rewrites history
India suffered an early setback in their chase of 126 runs when Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for just 1 run. However, these were Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s days.The 15-year-old prodigy unleashed a stunning attack, smashing 50 off just 19 balls with four fours and four sixes. In the process, he became the youngest player to score a T20I half-century, keeping India firmly in control of the chase, but fell down immediately after reaching the landmark.Captain Shreyas Iyer remained unbeaten with 28 off 24 balls while Ishan Kishan scored quick scores of 35 off 24 balls. Tilak Varma hit the match-winner and India easily completed the chase with 7 wickets.For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani was the bowler with two wickets, dismissing Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, while Richard Ngarava claimed Sooryavanshi’s valuable scalp.The win marked Shreyas Iyer’s first as India T20I captain, ending a frustrating seven-match winless run that included tours of Ireland and England, while Sooryavanshi’s record-breaking knock stole the headlines in Harare.
