In this year’s IPL, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had left jaws on the floor when he nonchalantly deposited Jasprit Bumrah over mid-on for a six off the first ball he faced from the ace pacer.

On Friday, under lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, another glimpse of the box-office duel between the precocious teen and seasoned operator was on view. This came in a mere practice session for the Indian team ahead of the first T20I against Afghanistan on Sunday, but the intensity of the battle was enchanting nevertheless. Sooryavanshi and Bumrah haven’t yet featured for India together.

Sooryavanshi had to be fairly measured on Friday evening, for Bumrah hit his straps and tested the young left-hander with the lengths that he found. The 32-year-old beat Sooryavanshi all ends up on one occasion with a peach on a good length, and also nailed his yorkers most of the time. Sooryavanshi wasn’t fazed, however, as he unfurled a delightful punch off the back foot later.

For Bumrah, it was largely about finding his groove after an injury layoff. He had hurt his left knee during the ODI series against England in July, and had failed to recover in time for the recent Test series versus Sri Lanka. He bowled in the nets for nearly 45 minutes.

The training stint was attended by the entire 15-member squad. After a light drizzle, India was in buoyant mood as it started with elaborate fielding drills. With fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh, who took over from T. Dilip in August, encouraging the players with the enthusiasm of a recent hire, flat and high catches as well as ground fielding were practised rigorously.

If greater emphasis on the fielding seemed noticeable, it may be to address India’s sloppiness on the tour of the United Kingdom in June-July. A number of catches were spilled as Shreyas Iyer & Co. suffered series defeats to both Ireland and England.

In an unrelenting cricket calendar where monotony can set in over run-of-the-mill bilateral assignments, a multi-disciplinary event like the Asian Games holds the promise of a novel offering.

The competition provides a unique opportunity for India’s high-profile cricketers to mingle with athletes from other sports whilst attempting to win gold for the nation. Shreyas Iyer & Co. will be looking to do just that when they travel to Japan for the continental spectacle’s T20 tournament from September 24 to October 3.

This will be the Indian cricket team’s second appearance at the Asian Games, having pocketed gold in Hangzhou, China, in 2023.

This will be the Indian cricket team’s second appearance at the Asian Games, having pocketed gold in Hangzhou, China, in 2023.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Sunil Gavaskar hopes the Men in Blue savour the experience of a multi-sport carnival. “You get to know and talk to athletes from other sports, and get to know what makes them tick. It will be a wonderful experience,” he said during a virtual media interaction.

Though reports have emerged of the arrangements in Japan for the cricketers not being up to scratch, Gavaskar emphasised that such obstacles shouldn’t dissuade the game’s stakeholders from exploring newer markets.

“If cricket has to become a global sport, it has to be played in different parts of the world. At the Olympics, for example, you could play in a city where cricket isn’t generally played. You might not always get the best facilities,” the 77-year-old opined. “For the game to grow, I would encourage them to play wherever possible.”

If cricket is to pique the curiosity of spectators at the Asian Games, the boy wonder that is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to show up. The spunky 15-year-old, who cracked two half-centuries against Zimbabwe after a baptism by fire against England, will hope to continue his upward flight.

“Look in T20 cricket, you can’t expect consistency. Vaibhav is the kind of batter who can win you three or four out of 10 games. But he’s somebody with whom we need to have patience,” assessed Gavaskar.

(Watch cricket at Asian Games 2026 on Sony Sports and Sony LIV from September 17).

Ishan Kishan led from the front with a sprightly unbeaten 111 (135b, 14×4, 1×6) as East Zone amassed 385 for four against South Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final at the MAC Stadium here on Sunday.

The Jharkhand batter built on the efforts of opener Abhimanyu Easwaran (72, 86b, 10×4, 1×6) and No. 3 Shikhar Mohan (85, 120b, 9×4, 3×6) after opting to bat.

Abhimanyu Easwaran gets run out in the Duleep Trophy final between South Zone and East Zone.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

While Kishan headlined the day, it was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who hogged the limelight.

It is not often that you see packed stands for a domestic game in India. Yet, even before the first ball was bowled, the C, D, and E stands at Chepauk were nearly full in anticipation of seeing the wunderkind. And in the first 90 minutes of the day, the youngster kept the fans on their feet through some elegant strokeplay.

The 15-year-old got on his toes nicely to counter the bounce from the red-soil pitch and punched South Zone pacers Mohammed Siraj and M.D. Nideesh to the off-side fence a few times.

And when Siraj went full, Sooryavanshi had no second thoughts about lofting down the ground for a six and a four. The southpaw eventually holed out on the leg-side trying to pull C.V. Milind for 44.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

At the other end, Abhimanyu kept pace with the youngster and did not hold himself back, be it pulling Siraj effortlessly or giving the charge to the spinners.

Post lunch, Shikhar and Kishan combined forces, adding 94 for the fourth wicket, capitalising on a below-par effort from the South bowlers.

Shikhar was largely untroubled, confidently driving Siraj for back-to-back boundaries through the off-side before launching off-spinner T. Vijay for a six and two boundaries off consecutive deliveries.

Shikhar Mohan.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

Kishan kept busy without trying to be aggressive, bringing up his half-century off 71 deliveries. In the final session, he pressed on the accelerator and brought up his century in style, driving Shreyas Gopal down the ground majestically.

Alongside his Jharkhand teammate Kumar Kushagra (63 batting, 75b, 4×4, 5×6), the duo added an unbroken 144 runs for the fifth wicket as East established an early hold on the contest.

The scores: East Zone — 1st innings: Abhimanyu Easwaran run out 72, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi c sub (Tanay) b Milind 44, Shikhar Mohan b Milind 85, Sudip Kumar Gharami c Milind b Vijay 6, Ishan Kishan (batting) 111, Kumar Kushagra (batting) 63; Extras (nb-4): 4; Total (for four wkts. in 79 overs): 385.

Fall of wickets: 1-100, 2-133, 3-147, 4-241.

South Zone bowling: Siraj 14-1-96-0, Nidheesh 10-2-39-0, Vijay 22-3-114-1, Milind 13-1-56-2, Shreyas 19-3-77-0, Rasheed 1-0-3-0.

Toss: East.

 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.

East Zone’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi plays a shot during the Duleep Trophy 2026 semifinal against Central Zone.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

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.

Gurnoor wreaked havoc early on Monday.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

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.

Sooryavanshi’s 81-ball 92 was studded with seven fours and as many sixes.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

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).

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The cream of Indian cricket’s second rung will be in action as the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy semifinal fixtures get underway at the BCCI Centre of Excellence from Sunday.

Defending champion Central Zone will take on East while last season’s finalist South Zone will spar with North.

East and North notched up contrasting victories in the quarterfinals. Where East, marshalled by Ishan Kishan, recorded a thumping innings and 210-run win over North East, Kanhaiya Wadhawan’s North conjured a dramatic 52-run success despite West Zone coasting at 195 for three while chasing 287.

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could only score eight runs for East but picked up two wickets with his left-arm spin in the second essay. The last-four clash will offer him another opportunity at bettering his middling First Class numbers (215 runs from 13 innings at average of 16.53).

Keeping him silent will be high on Central skipper Rajat Patidar’s priorities, and it remains to be seen if off-spinner Saransh Jain can aid him in this. Saransh is part of the roster but made his India debut in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, which kept him on the field until Thursday.

But fellow India international Gurnoor Brar — who didn’t play either Test in Sri Lanka — has been added to the North Zone squad and participated in Saturday morning’s practise. His entry further bolsters North’s pace attack, for it already has Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep Singh.

North Zone’s Abid Mushtaq after winning the the Duleep Trophy 2026 Quarterfinal 2 against West Zone, played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) grounds, in Bengaluru on August 26, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

Jammu & Kashmir left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq starred in the win over West with a match-haul of nine for 99. Whether he gets the same purchase at CoE Ground 2 as he did on the red-soil wicket at Ground 1 will be intriguing to watch.

South has a solid batting line-up, led by skipper Tilak Varma, R. Smaran — 2025-26 Ranji Trophy’s leading scorer with 950 runs — and Karun Nair. There is also Shaik Rasheed, the highly rated 21-year-old, who made 627 runs in Andhra’s dash to the Ranji quarterfinals last season.

 Duleep Trophy was once an important pit stop in a cricketer’s journey towards the Indian National team. But now, with the mushrooming of glitzy and faster highways to success like the IPL and India-A, the inter-zonal competition has slid down the importance chart.

It is not that the Duleep Trophy is irrelevant; a good performance against the best Ranji Trophy players from the previous season still carries significant value. But it is just one more data point in a cricketer’s graph and not the clincher it once was.

Yet, when the 2026-27 edition starts on Sunday at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here, there will be sufficient interest. As the tournament heralds the beginning of the domestic cricket calendar, players’ first moves will be as important as chess openings.

In the inaugural round, the competitive match – at least on paper – is expected to be the North Zone-West Zone encounter. But Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s presence on the adjacent ground, turning out for East versus the North East, will attract enough eyeballs.

The cherubic 15-year-old has a proven T20 game, but the red ball will present twin tests. There are batting numbers to better, for he averages 17.25 from eight First Class matches. There is the vice-captaincy burden to carry, for he is Ishan Kishan’s deputy.

East also has veteran Mohammed Shami, who last played for India more than 17 months ago. He picked up 37 wickets in Bengal’s dash to the Ranji semis in 2025-26, only for the selectors to look the other way. Can he turn their heads this time around?

North will be led by Jammu & Kashmir’s Kanhaiya Wadhawan, and has six of his Statemates, a hat-tip to J & K’s maiden Ranji triumph earlier this year. Ruturaj Gaikwad will marshal West Zone’s resources, with Mumbai batter Prithvi Shaw in the mix.

Defending champion Central and runner-up South have been given byes to the semifinals. The next four days will decide who they will face.

India spin legend Harbhajan Singh says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s audacious strokeplay is unparalleled in international cricket and any bowler looking to stop the 15-year-old will have to adopt an aggressive approach as containing him is not an option.

Harbhajan believes Sooryavanshi is capable of sowing doubt in the mind of a bowler despite his tender age and low experience.

“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is extraordinary. He is a unique player. I have not seen a player like him before, one who can dominate the world at 14-15 years of age,” Harbhajan told PTI in a podcast interview.

The teenager became the youngest player in IPL history when he made his Rajasthan Royals debut at 14 in 2025 and soon after became the youngest batter to score a century in men’s T20 cricket, smashing a 35-ball hundred against Gujarat Titans.

His remarkable rise continued this year as he became the youngest player ever to make an international debut for India when he played against England at Old Trafford at the age of 15 years and 99 days.

Sooryavanshi blasted 175 off 80 balls against England in the Under-19 World Cup final, the highest individual score in the history of the tournament’s finals, and was named Player of the Tournament as India lifted the title.

During the IPL earlier this year, the Rajasthan Royals prodigy famously greeted world-class premier pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins by dispatching their very first deliveries to him for sixes

“When the world’s top bowlers are bowling to him, they are actually thinking about where to bowl. That itself is a big, big statement,” Harbhajan said.

So how does one bowl to someone who refuses to be overawed by the bowler’s name, the occasion or the field? “The only way to survive is to attack him. You go at him and you take his wicket,” Harbhajan said.

“It may not work all the time. Sometimes you might even get smashed. He would’ve hit sixes. But that is part of the game. You have to accept that he’s good.” Asked how he would bowl to Sooryavanshi in a powerplay situation, the former India spinner said, “I won’t set the field according to what he’s doing. I’ll set the field according to what I’m doing. If I bowl to escape, I won’t be able to get him out.

“You go at him and you take his wicket. You might get success, you might not. That’s just a matter of time. You have to accept that he’s good.

“But still, the next ball should be about how to get him out,” Harbhajan said.