India's Vaibhav Sooryavanshi makes records with maiden T20I half-century
What's the story
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi etched his name in the record books after scoring 50 runs versus Zimbabwe. Sooryavanshi smashed 50 runs off 19 balls in India's first T20I against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Thursday. He reached the milestone in just 18 balls before perishing. Notably, Sooryavanshi is now the youngest batter to smash a maiden fifty in international cricket (FM teams) and also the youngest at time of maiden fifty in T20Is.
Match performance
A blistering knock from Sooryavanshi
Chasing a target of 126 runs, Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma opened for India.
They added 23 runs before Ishan Kishan joined Sooryavanshi and a 45-run partnership followed.
However, his stay at the crease was cut short as he fell to pacer Richard Ngarava on the very next ball after reaching his half-century in the 7th over.
India were 68/2 when Sooryavanshi departed.
Record
Youngest half-centurion in T20Is
As per Cricbuzz, Sooryavanshi is the youngest half-centurion in T20Is. Aged 15 years and 118 days, he broke Louis Bruce's record for Gibralta against Malta in 2021.
Youngest at the time of maiden T20I fifty
15y 118d - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (IND) vs ZIM, Harare, 2026
16y 56d - Louis Bruce (Gibraltar) vs Malta, Albergaria, 2021
16y 76d - Kavin Chaddha (Indonesia) vs Sweden, Bali, 2026
16y 89d - Alusine Turay (Sierra Leone) vs Ghana, Benoni, 2023
Do you know?
Who held the record before this among Full Member teams?
Among players from Full Member teams, the record for the previous youngest half-centurion in T20Is was held by Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the age of 17y 296d versus Zimbabwe.
Sachin
Sooryavanshi breaks Sachin's record
Sooryavanshi has also become the youngest player to smash a fifty in international cricket across formats among FM teams.
He broke Sachin Tendulkar's record.
Youngest at the time of maiden fifty in international cricket (FM teams)
15y 118d - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (IND) vs ZIM, Harare, 2026 (T20I)
16y 213d - Sachin Tendulkar (IND) vs PAK, Faisalabad, 1989 (Test)
16y 214d - Shahid Afridi (PAK) vs SL, Nairobi, 1996 (ODI)
17y 39d - Mushtaq Mohammad (PAK) vs IND, Kolkata, 1960 (Test)
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Sooryavanshi breaks record of Nepal's Kushal Malla
As per Cricbuzz, Sooryavanshi also became the youngest player to register a 50-plus score in Men's international cricket overall. The only other to have done so before turning 16 is Nepal's Kushal Malla. He was aged 15y 340d in an ODI against USA in Kirtipur in 2020.
Runs
7th fifty in T20s for Sooryavanshi
Sooryavanshi's knock was laced with four fours and four sixes. He struck at 263.16.
In four matches for India, he has raced to 92 runs at an average of 23. His strike rate reads 209.9.
He has hit nine sixes to date.
Before this, he smashed 42 runs across three matches in India's tour of England recently.
Overall in the 20-over format, Sooryavanshi 1,569 runs from 38 matches at 42-plus.
He smashed his 7th fifty (100s: 4).