IND vs ZIM, 1st T20I: Captain Shreyas Iyer ends seven-match winless streak as India crush Zimbabwe by 7 wickets

Shreyas Iyer scores first win in Harare (Image: X/BCCI) India finally ended their seven-match winless run under skipper Shreyas Iyer when they beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in the first T20I in Harare on Thursday. The match also witnessed teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi script history as he became the youngest player to score a T20I half-century.After winning the toss, Iyer opted to bowl first and India’s pace attack justified the decision with a clinical performance.

Mayank Yadav shines for a comeback

Mayank Yadav returned to international cricket for the first time since October 2024 after recovering from a stress fracture and made an immediate impact. The express paceman dismissed Brian Bennett with the very first ball of the match before removing Dion Myers, who was consistently clocking over 145km/h.Zimbabwe were reduced to 26/3 during the over and slipped further to 32/4 after Shivam Dube dismissed skipper Sikandar Raza.A fighting partnership between Wessly Madhevere (39) and Ryan Burle (26), along with an unbeaten 27 off 20 from Tadiwanash Marumani, helped the hosts return to 125/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Debutant Ashok Sharma recovered well after an expensive first over, while Ravi Bishnoi fell economically to finish with 1/24.

Sooryavanshi is rewriting history

Chasing 126, India suffered an early setback when Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for just 1. But it turned out to be Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s day.The 15-year-old prodigy launched a breathtaking onslaught, smashing 50 off just 19 balls with four fours and four sixes. In the process, he became the youngest player ever to score a T20I half-century, giving India a firm grip on the chase, before falling immediately after reaching his milestone.Captain Shreyas Iyer anchored the innings with an unbeaten 28 off 24 balls while Ishan Kishan chipped in with a brisk 35 off 24. Tilak Varma hit the winning runs as India completed the chase comfortably with seven wickets in hand.For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets as he dismissed Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan while Richard Ngarava claimed the prized scalp of Sooryavanshi.The victory marked Shreyas Iyer’s first win as India’s T20I captain and ended a frustrating seven-match winless streak that included tours of Ireland and England, while Sooryavanshi’s record knock stole the headlines in Harare.