15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leads India to 3-0 sweep

A 15-year-old Indian batting prodigy has capped a dominant tour of Zimbabwe by setting a new international record and leading his team to a series clean sweep. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 81 runs from 49 deliveries in the third and final T20 International at Harare Sports Club on Sunday, July 26, becoming the first male cricketer to record multiple fifty-plus scores in international cricket before turning 16. His innings anchored India to a total of 192 for 5, which proved enough for a 35-run victory and a 3-0 series whitewash.

Sooryavanshi’s performance, which included eight fours and four sixes on a slow pitch, earned him both Player of the Match and Player of the Series honors. He finished as the leading run-scorer in the three-match contest with 151 runs, solidifying a remarkable comeback after a difficult debut series against England earlier this month. In that series, the youngest player ever to represent India managed scores of only 13, 14, and 15 before being dropped for the final match of a series India lost 4-0.

Interim head coach VVS Laxman, overseeing the team in Zimbabwe, praised the teenager’s rapid development, particularly his mental growth over the past six...