Vaibhav Sooryavanshi breaks 57-year-old record

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a 15-year-old teenage sensation, broke a 57-year-old record on Monday by becoming the youngest player to score a half-century in Duleep Trophy history. Playing for East Zone against Central Zone at Bengaluru's BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, the attacking opener achieved his fifty off just 42 balls, smashing a six off off-spinner Saransh Jain.

The previous record, held for 57 years, was set by Laxman Singh at 16 years and 23 days in the 1969 edition. Sooryavanshi's record-breaking knock fell short of breaking another milestone; had he scored a century, he would have become the youngest Duleep Trophy centurion, shattering Sachin Tendulkar's 36-year-old record of being the youngest centurion in the competition.

Instead, Sooryavanshi fell eight runs short of a historic ton, dismissing for 92 off 81 balls. If he had reached three figures, he would also have become the second-youngest Indian to score a First-Class century, a record currently held by Punjab's Dhruv Pandove at 14 years and 293 days in the 1988-89 Ranji Trophy season. This was Sooryavanshi's second fifty in First-Class cricket, and he remains yet to prove his mettle in red-ball cricket, with a current First-Class average of 16.53 from 13 innings before this match.

The teenager has been appointed vice-captain of the East Zone side, briefly taking over the captaincy during the match when Ishan Kishan was sidelined due to an injury. East Zone faced off against defending champions Central Zone, who were dismissed for 266 after inviting to bat. As of the latest update, East Zone had scored 199/2 in 37 overs.