Vaibhav Sooryavanshi captain watch: How did the 15-year-old fare as East Zone’s stand-in skipper in Duleep Trophy semi-final? originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took over as East Zone's stand-in captain on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy semi-final.
- The 15-year-old India star replaced Ishan Kishan, who left the field with a thumb injury.
- The Central Zone were bowled out for 266 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has spent the past 18 months collecting records nobody his age had any business holding, and Bengaluru has produced another. The 15-year-old has taken charge of East Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone, his first captaincy role in senior first-class cricket.
The opportunity arrived through misfortune rather than design. Regular skipper Ishan Kishan took a blow to his right thumb while keeping wicket during Central Zone's first innings and walked off for treatment. While Kumar Kushagra took the gloves and Sooryavanshi, the side's vice-captain, assumed the armband.
It is not entirely unfamiliar territory. Sooryavanshi served as vice-captain at the Under-19 ODI World Cup earlier this year and led India's junior side in the series against South Africa. Doing it alongside Mukesh Kumar and Rinku Singh in a first-class semi-final is a considerable step up.
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How Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ended up leading East ZoneEast Zone won the toss and elected to bowl at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, and Kishan was behind the stumps when the injury occurred in the 19th over of Central Zone's innings. His right hand was heavily strapped as he headed for the dressing room.
Sooryavanshi's promotion follows a strong tournament so far, though not with the bat. He managed only eight from six deliveries in the quarter-final against North East Zone but claimed 2 for 11 from three overs of left-arm spin, helping East Zone to an innings and 210-run victory.
He addressed that bowling spell in a video posted by BCCI Domestic, revealing what Kishan had made of the decision to hand him the ball. "Ishan bhaiya felt like he was taking a risk by giving me the ball. But he doesn't know that I am a wicket-taker," Sooryavanshi said.
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Day 1: Sooryavanshi nails a dramatic DRS callThe defining moment of his first day in charge came in the 40th over, and it required somebody else's conviction as much as his own. Mukesh Kumar found the outside edge of Aryan Juyal outside off stump, only for the umpire to reject the caught-behind appeal.
Mukesh turned immediately to his teenage captain and pleaded his case. With three seconds remaining on the clock, Sooryavanshi signalled for the review, and UltraEdge revealed a clear spike as the ball passed the bat. Juyal was dismissed for 46 from 112 balls, breaking a key partnership.
Stand-in Captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi goes for the review with 3 seconds remaining...and gets it right 👏
DRS done right as the set Aryan Juyal (46) is dismissed ✅
The celebrations say it all 🙌 #DuleepTrophy
The celebrations that followed said everything about what the moment meant, with Sooryavanshi and Mukesh embracing before the rest of the side joined in. East Zone's bowlers backed their stand-in leader throughout, with Mukesh Kumar and Abhijit Sarkar picking up two wickets apiece as Central Zone slipped to 174 for 5.
Rinku Singh and Harsh Dubey offered late resistance before the innings closed on 266. East Zone will bat next, with Sooryavanshi due to open the innings as well as lead the side.
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What to watch as the semi-final unfoldsSooryavanshi might have passed the first day of his captaincy, but the immediate question still remains whether Kishan can recover sufficiently to resume the captaincy or not. If he makes the cut, that would send the 15-year-old back to his role as the vice-captain.
However, in the off-chance that Kishan remains out of action for long, it will be perhaps the biggest test of the teenager's short career. Instead of just a DRS call, he would be responsible for setting fields and rotating bowlers across a full day rather than a single session.
There is also the matter of his batting. Sooryavanshi averages a mediocre 16.53 across 13 first-class innings and has yet to produce a substantial red-ball score. That's something Steve Waugh flagged this week when urging India to build his experience in the format before considering him for Test cricket.
The winner of this semi-final meets the victor of the South Zone against the North Zone in the final, which begins on September 6 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
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