Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scripted history in the ongoing Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru on August 31. The southpaw became the youngest to score a Duleep Trophy half‑century, achieving the feat at just 15 years and 157 days.
Sooryavanshi scored 92 off 81 deliveries, laced with seven fours and as many sixes, batting at a strike rate in excess of 113.58. He rode his luck throughout the innings and was eventually dismissed while trying to smack slow left‑arm orthodox bowler Harsh Dubey out of the ground. During his knock, Sooryavanshi added a 161‑run stand for the opening wicket with Abhimanyu Easwaran (69 off 106), providing a rock‑solid start to East Zone.
Sooryavanshi also had a brief taste of captaincy when East Zone’s designated skipper Ishan Kishan walked off the field with an injury concern. He marshalled his bowlers and fielders well and even took a successful review.
Youngest to score a Duleep Trophy half-century:
- 15 years & 157 days - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (East Zone) vs Central Zone at Bengaluru (COE), 2026*
- 16 years & 23 days - Laxman Singh (Central Zone) vs North Zone at Delhi, 1969
- 16 years & 307 days - Piyush Chawla (Central Zone) vs South Zone at Surat, 2005
- 17 years & 199 days - Ambati Rayudu (Elite Group B) vs Plate Group A at Chennai, 2003
- 17 years & 262 days - Sachin Tendulkar (West Zone) vs East Zone at Guwahati, 1991
Central Zone Squad
Playing XI: Aman Mokhade, Aryan Juyal (wk), Kunal Chandela, Yash Rathod, Rajat Patidar (c), Rinku Singh, Saransh Jain, Harsh Dubey, Arshad Khan, Yash Thakur, Aryan Pandey
Bench: Zeeshan Ansari, Nachiket Bhute, Kunal Singh Rathore, Aayush Pandey
East Zone Squad
Players: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Kumar Kushagra, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Ishan Kishan (c) (wk), Virat Singh, Md Kounain Quraishi, Anukul Roy, Abhijit K Sarkar, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar
Bench: Shahbaz Ahmed, Subhranshu Senapati, Denish Das, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Shikhar Mohan


