Vaibhav Sooryavanshi rewrites Duleep Trophy record books with youngest-ever half-century

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continued his remarkable rise on Monday, becoming the youngest player in Duleep Trophy history to score a half-century during East Zone's semifinal against Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru.

At just 15 years and 157 days, Sooryavanshi reached the milestone in 42 balls, smashing off-spinner Saransh Jain for a six to bring up his fifty and erase a 57-year-old record.

The previous mark belonged to Laxman Singh, who scored a Duleep Trophy half-century at 16 years and 23 days in the 1969 edition. India spinner Piyush Chawla had subsequently achieved the feat at 16 years and 307 days in 2005.


Sooryavanshi, however, fell agonisingly short of another slice of history. He was dismissed for 92 off 81 balls, missing the chance to become the youngest Duleep Trophy centurion.

Sachin Tendulkar currently holds that record, having scored a century in the 1990-91 edition at 17 years and 262 days. A hundred would also have made Sooryavanshi the second-youngest Indian to score a first-class century.

That distinction remains with Dhruv Pandove, who scored a century for Punjab against Jammu & Kashmir in the 1988-89 Ranji Trophy season at 14 years and 293 days.

Central Zone bowled out for 266

The teenager's landmark innings came after East Zone's bowlers had restricted Central Zone to 266 in their first innings.

East Zone won the toss and opted to bowl, with their pace attack keeping Central Zone under sustained pressure. Abhijit Sarkar, Mukesh Kumar and Mohammed Shami led the charge as Central Zone struggled to establish partnerships.

Opener Aryan Juyal offered some resistance with 46, while captain Rajat Patidar was dismissed for 12. Yash Rathod added 27 before Rinku Singh steadied the innings with a crucial 60 off 88 balls.

Rinku received support from Harsh Dubey, who made 27, as the pair put together a valuable partnership to lift Central Zone to a competitive total before the innings folded at 266.

Sarkar finished with three wickets, while Mukesh Kumar also claimed three. Shami chipped in with two wickets to keep Central Zone in check.

East Zone then made a confident start to their reply, with Abhimanyu Easwaran and the top order laying the foundation before Sooryavanshi took centre stage.

The 15-year-old's 92 ensured that, despite missing out on a century, his name would still be etched into the Duleep Trophy record books.