Young Indian batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made an immediate impact with the ball after a disappointing outing with the bat for East Zone in their Duleep Trophy 2026 quarter-final against North East Zone in Bengaluru. The 15-year-old picked up two wickets in a single over at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, dismissing Kishan Lyngdoh and Imliwati Lemtur in quick succession. His double strike added to East Zone’s dominance after they posted a commanding first-innings total.
Sooryavanshi had little impact with the bat earlier in the match. The East Zone vice-captain managed only six deliveries before being dismissed by North East Zone pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam. However, he responded impressively with the ball, taking just eight deliveries to register his first wicket.
The teenager claimed his third First-Class wicket when he bowled Kishan Lyngdoh on the second delivery of the 28th over. Sooryavanshi delivered a three-quarter-length ball outside off, tempting Lyngdoh to advance down the pitch.
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Lyngdoh attempted an aggressive shot but failed to maintain his shape and produced a leading edge towards cover. Substitute fielder Denish Das held on comfortably to complete the dismissal.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi provides Double Delight ✌️
Picks up 2⃣ wickets in the over. 2 excellent catches as well. 🙌
North East Zone are 79/7 in the 2nd innings after following on.
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/XJFhfvvTIU#DuleepTrophy pic.twitter.com/NnYbBPnrja
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) August 25, 2026
Sooryavanshi needed only three more deliveries to strike again. This time, he bowled a good-length delivery around off stump to Imliwati Lemtur, who attempted to defend from his crease. The ball took a thin outside edge, with wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan reacting quickly to complete an excellent catch and give Sooryavanshi his second wicket of the over.
East Zone’s dominance was built on a strong batting performance led by Shahbaz Ahmed. After resuming Day 2 at 355/6, they added 112 runs before being bowled out for 467. Shahbaz produced a career-best 167 off 244 balls, while Sudip Kumar Gharami had earlier contributed 146. Shahbaz also shared a valuable 103-run partnership with Anukul Roy for the seventh wicket, helping East Zone recover from 138/5 on Day 1.
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North East Zone then suffered a dramatic collapse, slipping from 72/2 to 111 all out and losing eight wickets for just 39 runs. Arpit Bhatewara top-scored with 32, while Rongsen Jonathan made 21. Abhijit Sarkar was the standout bowler with 5/20 from 9.5 overs, while Shahbaz claimed 3/20. With North East Zone bowled out cheaply, East Zone enforced the follow-on and strengthened their position in the quarter-final.
