India Vs Zimbabwe, 3rd T20I: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Hails Team Support After Match, Series Honours

After bagging the Player of the match and series awards, teen Indian batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi rated the achievement a “dream come true" moment for him and thanked the team management for allowing him to pursue his natural T20 game.

Sooryavanshi ended the three-match series against Zimbabwe with 151 runs from three innings, averaging 50.33.

In the first T20I, the left-hander made a rollicking 19-ball 50 and he made a more sober 49-ball 81 in the third game, playing a big hand in India’s 3-0 series sweep over the African side.

“It felt very good. It is a dream come true for me. First man of the match and man of the series. The preparation here has been good,” Sooryavanshi said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“Everyone backed me, including the coach and the captain. I tried to play my usual T20 game and tried to give the team a good start and then play a long innings if I manage a good start.

“I played the U19 World Cup here (in Harare) as well and I feel good playing here. What I do in practice, I try to replicate that in the matches,” he added.

India skipper Shreyas Iyer was a relieved man after the team registered its first series win under him.

India had lost to Ireland and England before arriving in Zimbabwe.

“As we saw, how fearlessly they are. A young bunch of players showing tremendous energy and intent on the field.

“To have that kind of energy is what I demand as a captain and we saw that. Special series win. Clinical. 3-0 so it's a special one,” said Shreyas.

As a captain, Shreyas said, he has been trying to back all the players and give them confidence to get the best out of his wards.

“I try to make sure they are comfortable and relaxed. That's how you can get the best out of them. You see boys taking that responsibility and winning games, you need that.

“The amount of calmness that we possess and if we show the same courage going forward, it's going to be good for Indian cricket,” he noted.

His opposite number Sikandar Raza, now the most capped Zimbabwe player across formats, said playing against T20 world champions India was an enriching experience for his young side.

“Our biggest takeaway is the experience. Nyamhuri, Marumani were very good. The journey started long ago. We wanted to change things in the dressing room. We wanted to bet here for each other in success and in bad times.

“We wanted to die for every ball. We wanted to match the intensity of world cricket. We will have some bad days and I'm okay with that,” he said.