On August 30, 2026, during the first Semi-Final between Central Zone and East Zone in Bengaluru, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest player in Duleep Trophy history to register a half-century. At the age of 15 years and 175 days, he reached the milestone, hitting his fifty with a six after just 42 deliveries.
Sooryavanshi continued his signature ultra-attacking style with the bat, hitting three sixes and five fours to reach fifty in just forty-two balls. In the process, he surpassed the 57-year-old record held by Laxman Singh, who at the age of 16 years and 23 days had achieved his first fifty in the competition. In contrast, Sooryavanshi achieved the milestone at 15 years and 157 days of age.
The previous record for the youngest Duleep Trophy half-century, held by Laxman Singh at 16 years and 23 days since 1969, was broken by Sooryavanshi. Piyush Chawla, who hit a fifty at 16 years and 307 days in 2025, is ranked third on that list.
Additionally, Sooryavanshi was within striking distance of another historic milestone throughout the innings. When the semi-final was still going on, Sooryavanshi was eight runs away from breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record as the youngest century scorer in Duleep Trophy history.
On the first day, Central Zone was bowled out for 266 runs in 80.1 overs by seasoned seamer Mukesh Kumar and fellow right-arm medium pacer Abhijit Sarkar, who both took three wickets.
After winning the toss, East Zone captain Ishan Kishan made the perfect choice by bowling first. Mukesh (3/56) and Sarkar (3/38) split six wickets, while Mohammed Shami (2/42) and off-spinner Md Kounain Quraishi (2/49) each claimed two wickets to dominate Central Zone.
