Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took global cricket by storm with his T20 batting heroics. After IPL 2026, he offered further glimpses of his talent during the Zimbabwe tour, where he won the Player of the Series award. He then turned his attention to red-ball cricket, hoping to prove that he is more than a one-format player.
While luck did not favour him with the bat on his Duleep Trophy debut on Saturday, Sooryavanshi produced a surprise with the ball on Day 3 of East Zone’s quarter-final against North East Zone at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.
The teenager picked up two wickets in a single over during North East Zone’s second innings, as they battled to avoid an innings defeat.
It happened in the 28th over, when Sooryavanshi, a left-arm orthodox spinner, dismissed Kishan Lyngdoh with a loopy delivery angled into the batter. Lyngdoh stepped out looking to launch the ball but miscued his shot. Substitute fielder Denish Das backtracked brilliantly before completing an excellent catch at mid-wicket.
The second wicket came off the penultimate ball of the over. Imliwati Lemtur edged the delivery through to wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan, who reacted quickly to take a low catch.
Social media couldn’t contain its excitement as Sooryavanshi not only bowled but also picked up wickets, with fans already labelling the teenager an “all-rounder.”
Overall, Sooryavanshi bowled just three overs in the match, all in the second innings, and finished with impressive figures of 2/11.
This was not the first time Sooryavanshi had bowled in a first-class match. In his eight appearances in the format, he had previously bowled in five innings and taken two wickets at an average of 28.50. His latest spell, however, offered a glimpse of another dimension to his game.
Earlier, Sooryavanshi, who is also East Zone’s vice-captain, was dismissed for just eight runs off six balls after smashing two consecutive boundaries.
But East Zone were powered to a massive 467 by Shabaz Ahmed’s 167 and Sudip Kumar Gharami’s 146. Abhijit K Sarkar then claimed a five-wicket haul as North East Zone were bowled out for 111, prompting East Zone captain Ishan Porel to enforce the follow-on.
The bowlers continued to dominate in the second innings, reducing North East Zone to 114/8. They still trail by 242 runs with two wickets in hand.