India's teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi created history by becoming the youngest player to score a fifty in men's international cricket after smashing a 18-ball half-century against Zimbabwe in the first T20I in Harare on Thursday. Sooryavanshi reached his maiden international fifty at the age of 15 years and 118 days, surpassing the previous record held by former India great Sachin Tendulkar, who was 16 years and 213 days old when he scored his maiden international fifty against Pakistan in a Test at Faisalabad in 1989.
Pakistan's Shahid Afridi, who scored his maiden international fifty at 16 years and 214 days in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996, is third on the list. Former Pakistan batter Mushtaq Mohammad and Bangladesh's Mohammad Ashraful complete the top five, having reached their first international fifties at 17 years and 39 days and 17 years and 63 days, respectively.
Sooryavanshi is also the youngest player to register a 50-plus score in men's international cricket. Nepal's Kushal Malla is the only other player to achieve the feat before turning 16, having scored an ODI fifty against the USA in Kirtipur in 2020 at the age of 15 years and 340 days.
Before Sooryavanshi, the record for the youngest batter from a full-member nation to score a T20I fifty was held by Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who achieved the feat at 17 years and 296 days against Zimbabwe in Chattogram in 2019. In the process, he also broke the previous record held by (non-full member) Gibraltar's Louis Bruce, who was 16 years and 56 days old when he reached the milestone against Malta in Albergaria in 2021 in men's T20I cricket.
Indonesia's Kavin Chaddha, Sierra Leone's Alusine Turay and Bhutan's Tenjin Rabgey are next on the list, having scored their maiden T20I fifties at 16 years and 76 days, 16 years and 89 days, and 16 years and 118 days, respectively.
Sooryavanshi's record-breaking knock came as India chased down Zimbabwe's 125/7 with seven wickets in hand, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.
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