India have snapped their seven-match winless run in T20Is after defeating Zimbabwe by seven wickets in Harare.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's stunning 50 off 19 balls saw India easily chase down their target of 126 with 40 balls remaining and start their three-match series with a victory.

India opted to bowl first after winning the toss and made the perfect start as Brian Bennett was dismissed from the very first ball of the match by Mayank Yadav (2-18).

Prince Yadav (2-19) removed Ben Curran (10) before Mayank also sent Dion Mayers (6) back to the changing rooms inside the powerplay.

Wessly Madhevere (39) and Tadiwanashe Marumani (27) helped Zimbabwe reach a total of 125-7, but India made light work of their chase.

Blessing Muzarabani (2-26) struck early to dismiss Abhishek Sharma (1), but Sooryavanshi teed off at the other end before Ishan Kishan (35) joined in the action.

Richard Ngarava (1-30) and Muzarabani eventually got the wickets of Sooryavanshi and Kishan, respectively, but captain Shreyas Iyer (28 not out) and Tilak Varma (6 not out) got India over the line in the 14th over.

Maiden international fifty 

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi becomes the youngest batter ever to score a T20I half-century 

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— BCCI (@BCCI) July 23, 2026

Sooryavanshi gets going on the international stage

The pressure was very much on India after losing 2-0 to Ireland and 4-0 to England in their previous two T20I series (the first T20I against England was washed out).

The Men in Blue had not won a single match in the shortest format since their T20 World Cup victory earlier in the year, but the pressure was relieved in Harare.

Sooryavanshi became the youngest player to score a half-century in T20Is at just 15 years and 118 days old, which also took some of the weight off his own shoulders after an anti-climactic series against England.

Iyer finally got his first win as India's T20I captain, but with no more games scheduled in the format until October, he will be determined to secure a series victory on Saturday.