Young Indian batting star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came agonisingly close to his first ever first-class century on Monday but a bold six-hitting attempt cost him his wicket at 92 runs.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had already notched up his second first-class half-century of the match and looked in great touch to convert it into a hundred. However, his innings ended when he tried to clear the boundary off bowler Harsh Dubey.
It happened on the second ball of the 26th over — Vaibhav Sooryavanshi went for a slog sweep but the ball sailed straight into the hands of fielder Arshad Khan near the boundary rope, who took a clean catch. This gave Central Zone the breakthrough they badly needed, after the team had posted 266 runs in their first innings.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi couldn’t hide his disappointment, slamming his bat into the ground moments after being dismissed just eight runs away from a well-deserved century.
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Despite missing out on the hundred, the young cricketer still made history. His 92-run knock made him the youngest player ever to score a fifty in the Duleep Trophy, achieving this milestone at just 15 years and 157 days old.
This marked Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s second half-century in first-class cricket overall. He had made his debut against Mumbai in Patna during the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season. So far, in nine first-class matches, he has scored 215 runs across 13 innings, at an average of 16.53.
The wickets kept falling for East Zone after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s dismissal. On the very next ball, Harsh Dubey struck again, sending back Kumar Kushagra for a golden duck. Batters Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Kumar Gharami then put together a 39-run partnership for the third wicket, before Abhimanyu Easwaran was dismissed by bowler Aryan Pandey.
By the 41st over, East Zone found themselves at 213 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.
Well played Vaibhav Sooryavanshi!
