East Zone opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored an aggressive 44 off 37 deliveries against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026 final
The 15-year-old left-hander attacked India pacer Mohammed Siraj, striking five boundaries and a six during his brisk knock
Sooryavanshi combined with opening partner Abhimanyu Easwaran to post a century stand in 14.4 overs after East Zone elected to bat first
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gave East Zone a quick start after they chose to bat first against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026 final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. The 15-year-old left-hander carried his red-hot form from the knockout matches into the title clash after scores of 92 and 40 in the semifinal.
East Zone won the toss and batted first, and Sooryavanshi settled in before turning aggressive against Mohammed Siraj. The contest shaped the opening phase of the final on a surface that offered value for shots.
Sooryavanshi's Assault
Siraj came under pressure early. Sooryavanshi opened his account in the third over with his first boundary and kept the attack moving after a watchful start.
The sharper burst came in the seventh over. Siraj pitched one around the fourth stump and Sooryavanshi used a high back lift to guide it through point for four. On the next ball, with Tilak Varma spreading the field, Siraj went fuller to search for an edge but Sooryavanshi hit through the line and cleared long-off for six.
He ended the over with another lofted stroke. That shot did not go all the way but bounced once before reaching the fence. The charge stopped short of a half-century, though, as Sooryavanshi fell one hit short of what would have been his second fifty of the tournament.
Chama Milind broke through. Sooryavanshi tried to take him on the bounce, got the ball off the splice and miscued it over mid-wicket, where substitute fielder Tanay Thyagarajan completed the catch.
Scorecard Details
Sooryavanshi made 44 off 37 balls with five fours and one six. He also gave East Zone a solid platform with Abhimanyu Easwaran. The pair added 100 for the opening wicket in 14.4 overs before Milind removed the teenager.
That stand underlined his form in the knockouts. After 92 and 40 in the semifinal, Sooryavanshi again set the tempo at the top.
Teams And Changes
South Zone fielded Mohammed Siraj and Devdutt Padikkal, who had played in the Test series against Sri Lanka.
East Zone captain Ishan Kishan retained the same XI
South Zone made four changes
Tripurana Vijay and CV Milind came in along with Siraj and Padikkal
Padikkal arrived in Chennai after a strong run in Sri Lanka, where he scored three straight hundreds, including one in a warm-up match.
Padikkal's scores in that run were 142 not out, 167 and 117.
East Zone XI: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Kumar Kushagra, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shikhar Mohan, Ishan Kishan (w/c), Md Kounain Quraishi, Anukul Roy, Mohammed Shami, Abhijit K Sarkar, Mukesh Kumar
South Zone XI: Ricky Bhui, Narayan Jagadeesan (w), Devdutt Padikkal, Shaik Rasheed, Tilak Varma (c), Smaran Ravichandran, Shreyas Gopal, Tripurana Vijay, Mohammed Siraj, Chama V Milind, MD Nidheesh
