Vaibhav Sooryavanshi added another milestone to his rapidly growing cricket career on Monday, becoming the youngest player to score a half-century in Duleep Trophy history.
The 15-year-old achieved the feat during East Zone’s semi-final against Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru.
At 15 years and 157 days, Sooryavanshi reached his fifty from just 42 deliveries.
He sealed the landmark in style, hitting off-spinner Saransh Jain for a six to surpass a record that had stood for 57 years.
The previous record belonged to Laxman Singh, who scored a Duleep Trophy half-century at the age of 16 years and 23 days in the 1969 edition.
Piyush Chawla had later registered the second-youngest fifty in the competition, achieving the feat at 16 years and 307 days in 2005.
Sooryavanshi, however, fell just short of another piece of history.
He was dismissed for 92 off 81 balls, missing out on the opportunity to become the youngest player to score a Duleep Trophy century.
That record continues to belong to Sachin Tendulkar, who scored a hundred in the 1990/91 edition at 17 years and 262 days.
A century against Central Zone would also have placed Sooryavanshi second on the list of youngest Indian First-Class centurions.
The record is held by Dhruv Pandove, who scored a century for Punjab against Jammu & Kashmir in the 1988-89 Ranji Trophy season at 14 years and 293 days.
Central Zone Struggle Before Rinku’s Rescue Act
The record-breaking knock came after Central Zone were restricted to 266 in their first innings.
East Zone won the toss and chose to bowl, with their pace attack making early inroads and preventing Central Zone from building momentum.
Aryan Juyal offered some resistance with 46 runs, while captain Rajat Patidar could manage only 12.
Yash Rathod contributed 27 before Rinku Singh took charge of the innings.
Rinku struck a crucial 60 from 88 balls to help Central Zone recover from their early setbacks.
Harsh Dubey added 27 and provided Rinku with valuable support as the pair helped Central Zone move towards a respectable total.
Central Zone were eventually bowled out for 266.
Abhijit Sarkar led the East Zone bowling attack with three wickets.
Mukesh Kumar also claimed three wickets, while Mohammed Shami finished with two.
East Zone Respond Through Sooryavanshi
East Zone then began their reply positively, with Abhimanyu Easwaran and the rest of the batting lineup providing a strong response.
Sooryavanshi quickly became the centre of attention with his aggressive approach at the crease.
His 92-run innings not only put East Zone in a strong position but also ensured that the teenager's name would enter the Duleep Trophy record books.