Vaibhav Sooryavanshi showed exactly why he is one of the most highly-regarded T20 batters in the world, as he smashed a half-century off just 18 balls in India’s first T20I against Zimbabwe.
Sooryavanshi had started his senior India career with three successive failures, but became the youngest player ever to slam his maiden T20I fifty on his fourth appearance. Veteran India batter Hanuma Vihari reserved special praise for the 15-year-old, commending his ability to handle pressure and stick to his natural game despite the earlier failures.
“Imagine how much pressure there would have been on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,” Vihari said, speaking on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda.
“You are a 15-year-old, but there are so many expectations. You have not performed as well. And to go out there, be fearless, have that ability and level of confidence and play your own natural game again, what a player. He is that X-factor player,” Vihari added.
Teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi reflected on his match-winning performance in the opening T20I against Zimbabwe, saying that making an impact early in one’s career plays a crucial role in boosting confidence for upcoming assignments.
Sooryavanshi became the youngest to score a fifty in international cricket during the first game of the three-match series. The opener scored 50 off 19 balls for his maiden T20I fifty, surpassing Nepal’s Kushal Malla, who was 15 years and 340 days old when he made an ODI half-century against the USA in 2020.
Sachin Tendulkar, who was 16 years and 213 days old when he scored 59 against Pakistan on his Test debut tour in Faisalabad in 1989, was the previous youngest Indian batter to score an international fifty.
“When it’s the starting phase of your career and you get these kinds of innings early on and you perform well it builds confidence for the upcoming matches. And it felt like I was in my zone and I just bagged my strength; that was all. I would dedicate this fifty to my family and to my coaches and to everyone who has supported me along my journey through every good and bad phase,” he said in a video shared by BCCI.tv.