Duleep Trophy 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Contribution Guides East Zone To Tournament Final After 13 Years

 

 

Duleep Trophy 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Contribution Guides East Zone To Tournament Final After 13 Years

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to take the field one more time in the Duleep Trophy as East Zone has secured a place in the final. They beat defending champions Central Zone by four wickets on Tuesday to book a berth in the summit clash of the tournament. It was Sooryavanshi’s batting performance which played a key role in the team’s victory.

Skipper Ishan Kishan played a knock of 39 runs in the final innings as the East Zone chased down the target of 159 on the third day. Sooryavanshi also chipped in with 40 runs from 43 deliveries to provide a solid start to the team. Harsh Dubey picked four wickets for Central Zone, but there weren’t enough runs on the scoreboard to defend for the bowlers.

 

Earlier in the day, Central started the proceedings at 45/3, and their batters struggled as soon as they walked in to bat. The whole innings included only four double-digit partnerships, and the ninth-wicket stand between Arshad Khan and Harsh Dubey of 43 runs helped the team cross the 150-run mark. Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets while Mohammed Shami took three wickets.

Mukesh was awarded Man of the Match for taking seven wickets across both innings.

 

Regular skipper Ishan Kishan suffered an injury in the match, and young Sooryavanshi was stand-in captain for 20 overs. During his brief captaincy stint, he also opted for a successful review for the team. Most importantly, he made a vital contribution for the team with a knock of 92 runs from 81 deliveries. In the process, he became the youngest batter to score a fifty in the Duleep Trophy. The 15-year-old also scored 40 runs in the second innings, accruing 132 runs across two innings in the fixture.

 

Kishan has captained teams in 15 first-class matches, and none of the teams he captained has ever lost under his leadership. Eight of the matches were won by his team while seven ended in a draw.