Harare, July 23: India’s 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest player in the world to score a fifty in men’s international cricket, reaching the mark in just 18 balls in the first T20I against Zimbabwe here on Thursday.
His knock featured 4 fours and 4 sixes as India race toward the target of 126 following a blistering start at the Harare Sports Club.Opting to bowl first, India restricted hosts Zimbabwe to 125 for seven in the allotted 20 overs.Sooryavanshi broke the world record previously held by Nepal’s Kushal Malla to continue his meteoric rise in top-flight cricket. Mall was 15 years and 340 days when achieved the milestone while Sooryavanshi is 15 years and 118 days old.
India are currently touring Zimbabwe for a three-match T20I series. The landmark innings is another remarkable milestone in Sooryavanshi’s rapidly blossoming career, having already made headlines with his exploits in age-group cricket and the Indian Premier League. His fearless approach, clean ball-striking and maturity beyond his years have marked him out as one of the brightest young talents in world cricket. While the record-breaking half-century will be remembered for the numbers, it also underlined India’s rich pipeline of emerging talent and offered a glimpse of a player who could become a mainstay of the national side. (PTI)
