Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has added another remarkable milestone to his rapidly expanding list of cricketing achievements after becoming the youngest batter in Duleep Trophy history to score a half-century.
The 15-year-old achieved the feat while representing East Zone against Central Zone in the 2026 Duleep Trophy semi-final in Bengaluru. Sooryavanshi reached his fifty in only 42 deliveries, bringing up the landmark with a six.
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He went on to produce an impressive 92 off 81 balls, falling just eight runs short of a century. His innings was packed with attacking strokes and came at an important stage of the contest as East Zone looked to gain control of the semi-final.
At 15 years and 175 days, Sooryavanshi comfortably surpassed the previous record that had stood for 57 years. Laxman Singh had been the youngest player to score a Duleep Trophy fifty when he achieved the feat at the age of 16 years and 23 days in 1969.
Sooryavanshi also moved ahead of Piyush Chawla, who had scored a Duleep Trophy half-century at 16 years and 307 days in 2005.
The teenager’s record-breaking batting performance was not the only memorable moment for him during the match. Earlier, Sooryavanshi had found himself in an unexpected leadership role after East Zone captain Ishan Kishan was forced to leave the field following an injury to his right wrist.
Kishan was struck on the wrist during the opening day and had to leave the field during the morning session. Sooryavanshi temporarily took over as East Zone’s stand-in captain for around an hour around the lunch break before Kishan returned and resumed leadership duties.
During his brief stint as captain, Sooryavanshi also played a key role in a successful DRS decision.
In the 40th over, Central Zone opener and wicketkeeper Aryan Juyal was batting on 46 when he edged a delivery from Mukesh Kumar outside off. The East Zone players appealed for a catch behind, but the on-field umpire rejected the appeal.
Sooryavanshi backed the appeal and opted for a review. UltraEdge subsequently detected a spike as the ball passed the bat, confirming the edge and handing East Zone an important wicket.
Earlier in the match, East Zone made an impressive start after Kishan won the toss and elected to field. Mukesh Kumar and Abhijit Sarkar claimed three wickets each, while Mohammed Shami and Md Kounain Quraishi picked up two apiece.
Central Zone were eventually bowled out for 266 in 80.1 overs. Rinku Singh was their leading scorer with 60 off 88 balls, while Juyal contributed 46.
Rinku also shared a 55-run sixth-wicket partnership with Harsh Dubey, who made 27, after Central Zone slipped to 125/5. Quraishi ended the partnership by trapping Dubey lbw, triggering another collapse.
Saransh Jain scored 13, Aryan Pandey made 22 and Yash Thakur added a quick 30 off 26 balls as Central Zone were dismissed for 266.
For Sooryavanshi, however, the spotlight remained firmly on his record-breaking knock. The teenager’s 92 not only put East Zone in a strong position but also added another landmark to a career that continues to attract attention at an extraordinary age.
