3 min readUpdated: Jul 26, 2026 09:16 PM IST
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s led the way by smashing 81 off 49 balls and the bowlers did the rest as India beat Zimbabwe by 35 runs in the third and final T20I of the series in Harare on Sunday. India have thus eased to a dominant 3-0 win in the series. Sooryavanshi’s second half-century of the series helped the visitors set a target of 193 to chase at the Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe rarely looked capable of putting up a serious challenge and wrapped their innings on 157/7.
It was only an incredible diving catch that ended Sooryavanshi’s onslaught after India won the toss and chose to bat first. But that was only after the 15-year-old notched up his highest international score. It wasn’t the easiest of pitches to bat on, though, and Sooryavanshi initially showed a different side to his game to navigate it. He started in a relatively subdued fashion – first 10 balls produced a mere 11 runs, the next 10 saw the arrival of 15 runs, and eventually his second T20I fifty came in 31 balls.
On the other hand, his opening partner Abhishek got out for his sixth below par score in succession, edging pacer Blessing Muzarabani to stumper Tadi Marumani. Abhishek’s last six innings read: 10, 16, 3, 1, 8, 2, dating back to the third T20I at Nottingham against England last month.
Ishan Kishan provided the stability India needed after the early loss of Abhishek. He survived a disciplined opening spell from Nyamhuri, who consistently tested him outside off stump with movement and accuracy. Once settled, Kishan found his range, guiding behind square before taking on Evans with back-to-back boundaries.
India finished off with a score of 192/5 in 20 overs.
Mayank Yadav began the series by claiming 2/18 in his four overs. The spell gave a glimpse of his high pace, with deliveries clocking near 150kph. The challenge was whether he could replicate that again, and on Sunday, he showed he could. Mayank got Brian Benett again, as he did on Thursday, with a a 147kmph thunderbolt taking the outside edge and Sooryavanshi taking the catch at the lone first slip.
Mayank finished off with figures of 3/29 in his four overs and he was supported by Yash Thakur, who took 2/45 in his four overs, which included wickets in successive deliveries. He dismissed Dion Myers and Sikandar Raza in the fourth over to leave them 34/3. His figures could have been a lot better had the fielders held on to their chances, with three dropped catches off his bowling not allowing him to add to his tally.
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Ashok Sharma, the other debutant on this tour with Thakur, took 1/20 in his four overs, but like his bowling partner could have had a wicket early in his spell had Ishan Kishan held on to a top-edge.
Only Ryan Burl offered resistance, remaining unbeaten on 54, but it was not enough as India completed an easy win.
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