The 15-year-old Indian opener smashed an 18-ball half-century against Zimbabwe in Harare, establishing a historic milestone in international cricket.
HARARE, Zimbabwe — Indian opening batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi etched his name into cricket history on Thursday, becoming the youngest player to score a half-century in men’s international cricket. The 15-year-old reached the milestone during India’s comfortable seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the first T20 International at the Harare Sports Club.
Aged just 15 years and 118 days, Sooryavanshi surpassed the long-standing record held by batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, who scored his first international half-century in a Test match against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 213 days.
Sooryavanshi delivered a breathtaking display of power hitting, reaching his fifty off just 18 deliveries before falling for 50 off 19 balls. His explosive knock included four boundaries and four massive sixes, operating at a strike rate of 263.15.
World Record Milestones
The Bihar-born left-hander broke multiple benchmark records with his half-century:
- Youngest in Men’s International Cricket (Full Members): Sooryavanshi (15y 118d) eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar (16y 213d) and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi (16y 214d).
- Youngest in All Men’s T20 International Cricket: Surpassed Gibraltar’s Louis Bruce, who scored a T20I half-century against Malta in 2021 at 16 years and 56 days.
- Youngest in All International Cricket: Passed Nepal’s Kushal Malla, who previously held the overall international mark at 15 years and 340 days.
Dominant Victory for India
Chasing a modest target of 126 runs, India completed the victory with 40 balls to spare, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Earlier in the match, India’s bowling attack restricted Zimbabwe to 125/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Fast bowler Mayank Yadav was named Player of the Match after returning figures of 2 for 18 in his four-over spell. Prince Yadav supported the effort with two key wickets of his own.
In response, Sooryavanshi launched an immediate assault on the Zimbabwean attack. Following his dismissal, Ishan Kishan ensured there were no further stumbles, scoring 35 runs off 24 balls to guide India home in 13.2 overs. The match also marked Shreyas Iyer’s first win as captain of the Indian T20I team.
