Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Stars As India Return To Winning Ways Against Zimbabwe

by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath

image Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Stars As India Return To Winning Ways Against Zimbabwe
After a calamitous tour of England, which included defeats in both limited-overs series, India bounced back to winning ways in Harare last week by clean-sweeping Zimbabwe 3-0. Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stole the headlines, but there were also several other key takeaways for the Men in Blue.
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India Complete 3-0 T20I Series Clean Sweep Over Zimbabwe 

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi reminded onlookers at the Harare Sports Club why he is widely considered one of the most explosive batters in world cricket on Sunday, when he smashed a sizzling half-century to help India to a series clean sweep over Zimbabwe, while also confirming our cricket predictions. 

Mayank Yadav and Yash Thakur also played key roles in the third T20I, claiming three and two wickets, respectively, which saw the Men in Blue reclaim the No.1 spot in the T20I rankings after briefly surrendering top billing during their series defeat to England earlier this month. 

On a sluggish pitch that offered similar conditions to those seen in the second match of the series, India were rocked early by the dismissal of Abhishek Sharma, but Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan steadied the ship with a 75-run partnership from just 50 deliveries 

The teenage sensation eventually departed after making 81 runs off just 49 balls, but late contributions from under-pressure skipper Shreyas Iyer (27 off 18) and Rinku Singh (25 off 14) propelled India to a formidable total of 192/5 in their 20 overs. 

Zimbabwe’s chase never really gathered momentum, as Yadav once again dismissed Brian Bennett with the first delivery of the innings, while Thakur compounded the hosts’ problems by notching up two wickets in successive deliveries during the powerplay. 

The one area that India will need to improve for the rest of the summer is their fielding. The team put down five fairly straightforward chances, including three dropped opportunities off Thakur’s bowling.

Key Takeaways For India Ahead of Sri Lanka and West Indies Series

With the series win over Zimbabwe now in the bag, India have just over two weeks to rest and regroup before travelling to Sri Lanka for a three-match Test series and hosting the West Indies in a multi-format series between September and October. 

Below are the key takeaways the team have gained from their trip to Africa: 

  • Sooryavanshi’s Development: After being given limited time in the middle against England, Sooryavanshi grabbed his opportunity with both hands against Zimbabwe and showed his devastating striking power at the top of the innings. His development over the coming months will be key to India’s chances at the ICC World Cup next year. 
  • Yadav, Thakur Importance: For years, India have depended on the pace of Jasprit Bumrah, but they now have a solid developing cast in Mayank Yadav and Yash Thakur. The two were extremely impressive in tandem, with Yadav’s express pace proving almost unplayable at times, while Thakur’s discipline choked the opponents' scoring in the powerplay. 
  • Improved Fielding Needed: While India’s batting and bowling areas look well-stocked, major improvement is needed in the field, where spurning easy chances has become something of an unwanted trend in recent matches.