Sooryavanshi’s 81 seals a 3-0 sweep as India close out Zimbabwe
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s 81 off 49 balls and Mayank Yadav’s 3 for 29 gave India a 35-run win in the third T20I at Harare and a clean sweep of the series.
Jul 26, 2026
India finished their Zimbabwe tour the way they began it, with a 15-year-old opener taking the game away from the hosts inside ten overs. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made 81 off 49 balls at Harare Sports Club on Sunday, India posted 192 for 5, and Zimbabwe were 35 short of it at 157 for 7. The win completed a 3-0 sweep of the three-match series.
Sooryavanshi’s second fifty of the series
India lost Abhishek Sharma cheaply again, caught behind off Blessing Muzarabani for 2 with the score on 20. That brought Ishan Kishan in alongside Sooryavanshi, and the pair added 75 in 50 balls without ever looking rushed about it.
Sooryavanshi reached his fifty off 31 balls and finished with eight fours and four sixes. He had already made a fifty off 18 balls in the first T20I of this series, so Zimbabwe knew exactly what was coming, which did not help them much. Wessly Madhevere eventually got him, caught by Brad Evans at the end of the 15th over with India on 145.
Kishan was bowled by Sikandar Raza for 29 off 26. Shreyas Iyer, captaining the side, hit 27 off 18 before holing out, and Rinku Singh took 25 off 14 balls at the death, falling to the last delivery of the innings. Tilak Varma stayed unbeaten on 11. Zimbabwe’s bowlers also handed over 15 wides, which on a slowish pitch is the kind of thing that decides whether a total is par or above it. Evans took 2 for 41, Muzarabani, Raza and Madhevere one apiece.
Mayank Yadav strikes first ball, again
Zimbabwe’s reply lasted one delivery before it went wrong. Mayank Yadav had Brian Bennett caught by Sooryavanshi with the first ball of the innings, the second time in this series he has done exactly that. Yash Thakur then took two wickets in two balls in the powerplay, removing Dion Myers for 19 and Raza first ball, and the chase was 34 for 3 inside four overs.
Ryan Burl kept the scoreboard honest with an unbeaten 54 off 43, and Madhevere gave him 28 off 25 in a stand of 60 that was the only sustained resistance of the innings. By then the required rate had gone past anything Zimbabwe could realistically attack. Mayank finished with 3 for 29, the best figures on either side, while Ashok Sharma conceded just 20 in his four overs and Ravi Bishnoi went for 24. India also had to bring an extra fielder inside the circle for the final over after falling behind the over rate.
The bit India will not enjoy watching back
The fielding was scruffy. India put down a run of straightforward catches, three of them off Thakur’s bowling, which is why he ended with 2 for 45 rather than something far better. It has been a recurring theme for this side over the last few months, and a young squad on a tour like this is exactly where you would want it fixed rather than papered over by the margin of victory.
Zimbabwe, for their part, were competitive in patches across all three matches without ever holding a position long enough to win from it. Burl’s unbeaten fifty and Madhevere’s all-round contribution were the things worth taking home from Sunday.
India’s tour ends here. For a squad this inexperienced, three wins from three, with Sooryavanshi making 81 in the final one, is about as tidy a fortnight as the selectors could have asked for.