Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continued to rewrite records as the 15-year-old became only the first player in men’s international cricket to record multiple scores of 50 or more before turning 16.The left-handed opener accomplished the feat during the third and final T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare on Sunday, scoring 81 off 48 balls to guide India to 192/5 after electing to bat first.Only Kushal Malla of Nepal had registered a score of more than 50 in men’s internationals before turning 16. Sooryavanshi has now gone one better with two such scores to his name.More than 50 scores before turning 16 in Men’s Internationals
- 2 – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (India)
- 1 – Kushal Malla (Nepal)
On a pitch that offered assistance to the bowlers, Sooryavanshi showed a different side to his batting.
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He started brightly, scoring 11 runs from his first 10 balls and 26 from his first 20 deliveries before bringing up his second T20I fifty in 31 balls.His innings also included some of the stroke play that has become his trademark. He drove Brad Evans straight down the ground for four off a yorkese and later bowled off spinner Sikandar Raza for a 102-metre six. He also swept Wesley Madhevere in reverse for a boundary.As Sooryavanshi settled in, fellow opener Abhishek Sharma continued. Abhishek edged Blessing Muzarabani to wicketkeeper Tadi Marumani for two, extending his low-scoring streak. His last six innings have produced 10, 16, 3, 1, 8 and 2, dating back to the third T20I against England in Nottingham last month.Sooryavanshi then added 75 runs for the second wicket with Ishan Kishan, who made 29, before sharing a 50-run partnership with captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored 27.The youngster looked set for a century before Wesley Madhevere dismissed him. Brad Evans took a catch at long on to end his innings on 81.India could not maintain the same scoring rate after the departure of Sooryavanshi and Shreyas. The middle order added just 47 runs in the last five overs, with Rinku Singh’s 25 off 14 balls helping India move closer to the 200-run mark.India finished on 192/5, a total that could have been competitive on a surface that offered help to the bowlers.
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