Brad Evans Admits He Deliberately Prevented Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Hundred; Explains Why

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was caught on 81(49) by Brad Evans [Source: AFP]

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was in full flow once again on Sunday afternoon in Harare, as India wrapped up the Zimbabwe tour with the third win and won the series 3-0. Playing his 6th T20I for India, Sooryavanshi racked up his second international fifty and ended the series as the top scorer. 

At one stage during the final T20I, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi looked on course to get to his maiden triple-digit score for India but was prevented from doing so by Brad Evans, who caught him at 81(49).

Reacting to his catch, the Zimbabwe all-rounder revealed how motivated he was to dismiss Sooryavanshi under a score of 100 and what pushed him to put in the extra effort.

Brad Evans reveals why he put extra effort to dismiss Sooryavanshi

Having made a name for himself in the IPL with a record-breaking 2026 season for the Rajasthan Royals, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the world's most promising young talent. Additionally, he was on course to become the youngest ever player to score an international ton.

Speaking to the broadcasters in the mid-innings show, Brad Evans lauded Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s innings and sang praises for his talent. But while speaking about the outstanding effort to catch the 15-year-old, running in from long-off, he said he did not want the Indian to score his first hundred against Zimbabwe.

“Obviously, [Sooryavanshi is a] big player and he is going to go on to do amazing things, but I didn't want him to get his first hundred against Zimbabwe; so I put in extra effort there,” Brad Evans told the broadcasters.

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Why Brad Evans did not want Sooryavanshi to score hundred vs Zimbabwe

As mentioned by Brad Evans, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is destined to do amazing things in his international career. He has already broken a plethora of records at just 15, with two IPL centuries and 6 fifties.

Previously, no other 15-year-old has scored an international hundred. The record is held by Shahid Afridi, who scored a ton at 16 years and 217 days against Sri Lanka in 1996.

Despite all the potential he has, getting hit for a century from a 15-year-old would have been a bit embarrassing for Zimbabwe, and hence, Brad Evans put in extra effort to spoil his hundred.

How Sooryavanshi ensured Zimbabwe's demolition in Harare

Heading into the third and final T20I, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had already scored a 50 off 19 with four fours and four sixes in the series opener, showing the great momentum he is in.

India lost the out-of-form Abhishek Sharma cheaply at 2(4) in IND vs ZIM 3rd T20I. Still, Sooryavanshi ensured there was no early collapse, cautiously attacked the Zimbabwe bowlers, and picked his areas wisely.

Despite falling for 81(49) at the end of the 15th over, Sooryavanshi had made sure that India were well set to take off in the final five overs, with the score reading 145/3. 

Thanks to 20s from Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer and Rinku Singh, India scored 192/5 by the end of 20 overs and went on to restrict Zimbabwe for 157/7.

Up next, Sooryavanshi will have time to recover and prepare for his next India assignment in September, as he will be part of India's full-strength Asian Games 2026 team in Japan.

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