India's 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi did not have a good outing with the bat on Duleep Trophy debut. But, in North East Zone's second innings, Sooryavanshi struck twice in an over, dismissing Kishan Lyngdoh and Imliwati Lemtur.
On Day 3 of the clash, left-arm spinner Sooryavanshi was handed the ball by captain Ishan Kishan in the 26th over. On the second ball of his second over, Lyngdoh danced down the wicket and went for the big shot. All he could manage was a leading edge and substitute fielder Denish Das took the catch.
New batter Lemtur got off the mark with a boundary on the first delivery he faced. After a dot ball, Sooryavanshi bowled from around the wicket and managed to get an outside edge off Lemtur's bat and wicketkeeper Kishan took a regulation catch.
Following on, North East Zone were reduced to 79/7 in the 28th over. The Rongsen Jonathan-led North East Zone are heading towards a defeat by an innings in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal clash at BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2, Bengaluru.
He bowled three overs in his first spell, conceding 11 runs and bagging two wickets. At lunch break, North East Zone were 102.8, trailing by 254 runs.
This is Sooryavanshi's ninth first-class game. He had bowled in five innings before and claimed two wickets at an average of 28.50. He bowled a total of 14 overs in red-ball cricket before the Duleep Trophy debut.
Sooryavanshi falls cheaply
After being put to bat first, Sooryavanshi hit Manipur pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam for two consecutive fours before slashing at a delivery away from his body and getting caught by Joseph Lalthankhuma at gully.
What’s next for Sooryavanshi?
With the bat, Sooryavanshi is set to get another chance in the semifinal which begins on August 30. If East Zone make it to the final, the young prodigy will play red-ball cricket at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
He will have to transition to white-ball cricket straightaway as India go up against Afghanistan in the three-T20I series in Delhi starting on September 13. After that, he will head to Asian Games 2026 in Japan.