Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s care-free, adolescent excellence graced big-ticket First Class cricket, as the 15-year-old made an entertaining 81-ball 92 on day two of East Zone’s Duleep Trophy semifinal versus Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Monday.

In an innings that lasted 118 minutes and was studded with seven sixes and as many fours, Sooryavanshi took on every bowler, and put on 161 glorious runs for the opening wicket with Abhimanyu Easwaran (69, 106b, 8×4).

He was dropped on 40 by Yash Rathod at backward point off Saransh Jain while trying a wild cross-batted heave. But what is boyhood if frightening frankness isn’t accompanied by tiny flaws?

Pacer Yash Thakur was the first to bear Sooryavanshi’s brunt, smashed as he was for a flurry of fours and two sixes, one down the ground and the other hooked.

Saransh, who had just returned from Sri Lanka following his debut Test, induced a false stroke in his very first over only for Yash Rathod to make a mess of it.

Sooryavanshi, however, was unaffected. Reputation has rarely bothered him, and in the IPL, he didn’t spare even the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood.

A falling reverse sweep off Saransh was his response, and though that did not fetch the desired result, he hoisted the offie over long-on to bring up his half-century from 42 balls.

Sooryavanshi then collected maximums off medium-pacer Aryan Panday and left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, before launching another blitzkrieg against Saransh.

The seasoned Madhya Pradesh spinner was sent soaring above long-off, violently reverse-swept for four, and then muscled over cow-corner.

Another attempt at a hoick ended Sooryavanshi’s stay as he was caught at deep mid-wicket off Dubey.

But it was not before he became the youngest half-centurion in Duleep Trophy history, breaking Rajasthan batter Laxman Singh’s record for Central Zone from January 1969 when the latter was 16.

 South Zone weathered a blistering early morning bowling effort from India pacer Gurnoor Brar (four for 70) to finish day two of the Duleep Trophy semifinal 90 runs in the green at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here on Monday.

From an overnight 40 for two, South was reduced to 80 for five. But skipper Tilak Varma played all day (106 batting, 225b, 7×4), and combined with Shreyas Gopal (87, 169b, 11×4) for an excellent, match-turning 175-run partnership.

If not for a flurry of wickets towards close – from 255 for five to 270 for nine – South would have been in a healthier position. Nevertheless, with Tilak still around, South can hope to turn the screw further on day three, starting from 285 for nine.

It was an uncharacteristic innings from the usually dashing 23-year-old Hyderabad batter. His half-century took 149 balls and contained no boundaries, and the first hit past the ropes came on the 154th delivery, helping South secure the first-innings lead.

Shreyas was a tad faster but eschewed none of his partner’s caution, safely cutting and steering his way to his fifty from 107 deliveries. But just when the 32-year-old seemed set for his seventh First Class ton, an attempted glide to third-man brought about his downfall.

A mini collapse ensued, and it was only then that Tilak shifted gears, and reached his eighth First Class hundred from 219 balls with back-to-back boundaries off Gurnoor.

But in the morning, Gurnoor would have had no inkling of the things to come. Off his fifth ball, he turned N. Jagadeesan inside-out and rearranged his stumps.

R. Smaran, the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy top-scorer, was consumed by another mesmerising delivery that hit the top of off-stump. K. Himateja was sent back next ball to push South to the brink only for Tilak and Shreyas to turn the tables.

On the adjacent ground where East Zone was playing Central, proceedings were in stark contrast. Where South scored 73 runs in the opening session, East, propelled by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s manic 92 (81b, 7×4, 7×6), scored as many as 183.

But from 200 for two, Ishan Kishan’s outfit was dismissed for 266, the same first-innings total as Central. In what is now a one-innings shoot out, Central was 45 for three at stumps, with captain Rajat Patidar too back in the hut.

The scores: North Zone 195 vs. South Zone 285/9 in 94 overs (Tilak Varma 106 batting, Shreyas Gopal 87, Gurnoor Brar 4/70).

Central Zone 266 & 45/3 in 20 overs vs. East Zone 266 in 57 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 69, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 92, Harsh Dubey 4/66).

India batter Rajat Patidar will lead Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy, starting later this month at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

India middle-order batter Rinku Singh will be the deputy to Patidar, the two-time IPL winning skipper with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Off-spinner Saransh Jain has also been named in the squad but he is certain to miss at least the initial part of the domestic season opener since he is a part of the India Test squad to tour Sri Lanka.

Jain is tipped to make his Test debut at Galle since off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar was ruled out of the first match.

The first Test starts on August 15 at the Galle International Stadium, and the second Test will begin in Colombo from August 23.

The Duleep Trophy will run at the BCCI CoE from August 23 to September 10.

Central Zone squad for Duleep Trophy: Rajat Patidar (captain), Rinku Singh (vice-captain), Aryan Juyal (wicketkeeper), Saransh Jain, Aman Mokhade, Kunal Chandela, Zeeshan Ansari, Aryan Pandey, Arshad Khan, Ayush Pandey, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Kunal Singh Rathod (wk), Yash Thakur and Nachiket Bhute.

Stand-by players: Amandeep Khare, Mayank Mishra, Saurabh Rawat, Bhargav Merai, Kunal Yadav and Kumar Kartikeya.

Rajat Patidar could not have wished for a better birthday. The RCB captain, who turned 33 on Monday (May 1, 2026), was all smiles as he sat beside the IPL trophy in the press conference room in Ahmedabad.

“It is the best gift. Nothing can be better than this — to win the IPL for two successive years,” Patidar said. He added that while the team will celebrate the triumph, the focus will shift to “how we can do three in a row”.

The Madhya Pradesh player added that he has worked a great deal on his batting. The results were clear as Patidar looked more assertive and dominant at the crease.

“Before coming into the IPL, I spent a lot of time understanding my batting. I did proper net sessions. Sometimes, I was the only one at nets, and I needed bowlers. After that, I communicated a lot with D.K. bhai [RCB mentor and batting coach Dinesh Karthik] about how I could do more, trigger moments, technical changes, etc. Then I came here and executed that,” Patidar said.

Patidar stated that he drew inspiration from Faf du Plessis, his first captain at RCB. “The way Faf du Plessis presented himself, the body language, the confidence — these are things I learnt,” he said.

Speaking about the dominant show in the final, Patidar explained that dismissing the Gujarat Titans’ top-order — Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler — early proved to be crucial. “The GT batting line-up depends a lot on the top three batters. All three brought them to the final. We planned to get the top three out in the PowerPlay. We did take two wickets. They went on the back foot from there. That changed the game,” Patidar said.

After the fourth ball of the 17th over bowled by Kagiso Rabada, Virat Kohli held his extended lower jaw in pure amazement. He could scarcely believe that a length ball delivered by the Gujarat Titans pacer had been deposited into the stands at extra cover. You wouldn’t get a more glowing review of that shot than this gobsmacked expression from the legend. The architect of that piece of brilliance was Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar.

The 32-year-old scored an unbeaten 93 off just 33 balls to outbat the opposition in IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 to take his side closer to the prospect of a second successive title. Patidar played out just a solitary dot ball in his game-changing knock.

“When we lost those couple of wickets (Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal), after a good start from the top three, it meant that we had a little bit of time just to do a little rebuild and then go again. Rajat recognising those moments and deciding when to shift the gears, that takes a real level of discipline and sophistication to your thinking and your planning,” said Mo Bobat, RCB’s director of cricket.

“One of the things about Rajat is he tends to middle the ball quite often. Whether he’s facing pace bowling, spin bowling, off the front or back foot, the ball hits the middle of his bat quite a lot. He’s got some really good and sound basics and a pretty fearless intent, which is great to see,” Bobat added.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru skipper Rajat Patidar said that opening batter Phil Salt was close to returning to action but added that the call on whether he will play IPL 2026 Qualifier 1 against Gujarat Titans was yet to be taken.

The Englishman had left for the U.K. after suffering a finger injury in the game against Delhi Capitals on April 18. Salt was set to rejoin the squad ahead of the playoffs but he was not present during practice on the eve of the game. “Salt is fit. He is under observation. He has been participating in a few drills but we haven’t decided on our playing XI yet. We will look at the pitch and decide,” Patidar told reporters on Monday (May 25, 2026).

Jacob Bethell deputised for his compatriot before he was ruled out due to a left ring-finger injury. Venkatesh Iyer opened the batting in Bethell’s absence and contributed a rapid 44 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He had also filled in for Patidar in the middle-order during the contest against Punjab Kings. Patidar hailed Venkatesh’s versatility with the bat, which has allowed the team to slot him in at any spot.

“I have known Venky since childhood. He has a great attitude and is ready to bat anywhere in the order. He was a main player at Kolkata Knight Riders but when he came here, he didn’t get a lot of chances in the beginning. He accepted that and ensured he was prepared when the chance came to cash in,” the captain said.