In his knock of 45 runs Sooryavanshi scored 40 runs from boundaries, including four fours and four sixes.

“He hit a big shot on the first ball and gave a direct statement to New Zealand that I may be a 15-year-old, but don’t think of me as a kid; I will attack you. When you score more than 20 runs in the first over itself, you directly put the opposition on the back foot. So, that first punch from Vaibhav was very important,” Pathan said.

Although Pathan said his birthday cake was sweeter because of Sooryavanshi’s innings, he will still have Sanju Samson at the top of the order to maintain the left-hand and right-hand combination.

“My birthday went great seeing Vaibhav Suryavanshi bat. It was sweeter than the cake. I don’t prefer two left-handers opening, which is why I wanted Sanju to open and Vaibhav coming at three and trying to adapt. But it is not easy for a young kid,” he said.

Both left-handers were quite electric at the top of the order for India, scoring 133 runs in an opening stand from 43 deliveries. While Sooryavanshi played a cameo, Abhishek Sharma blitzed another century in his T20I career.