Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s big red-ball audition ends in six balls as East Zone vice-captain falls for 8 in Duleep Trophy
After all the hype surrounding his red-ball challenge, heightened further by his appointment as East Zone vice-captain, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s big audition ended in a flash after he initially raised hopes with two quick boundaries. Sooryavanshi was dismissed for just eight runs off six balls in East Zone’s Duleep Trophy 2026 quarter-final against North East Zone at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.Opening alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran after East Zone were put in to bat, Sooryavanshi came on strike in the second over against right-arm medium pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam. He smashed two consecutive boundaries off the third and fourth balls of the over before being dismissed off the final delivery.Coming around the wicket to the left-hander, Konthoujam conceded the first boundary with a delivery angled into Sooryavanshi before moving across towards the leg side. The batter tucked it through mid-wicket for four. The next delivery was fuller and on off stump, and Sooryavanshi punched it through cover for another boundary.However, Konthoujam then corrected his line and length. The final ball was on a good length, just outside off and cramping Sooryavanshi for room as he played it on the up. The teenager looked to punch it through point but found the fielder at gully instead.Amid all the hype, North East Zone appeared to have come prepared with a plan for Sooryavanshi. The quarter-final had offered the teenager a useful test against a group of experienced first-class cricketers as he began his transition from the white-ball game to red-ball cricket.Earlier, in an interview with The Indian Express, Sooryavanshi’s childhood coach Manish Ojha had highlighted the mental adjustment the teenager would need to make in moving from white-ball cricket to the longer format.“The biggest adjustment he has to make will be on the mental side. In white-ball cricket, he is hitting every ball. You can’t have a similar approach against the new ball. You have to wait for the right deliveries and minimise the risk. He has to learn to ride the wave, bat in different gears and learn the art of constructing an innings. Show the world, you can play 300 deliveries. This is the exposure he needs to gain from red-ball cricket before we think of his next step,” Ojha had said.Sooryavanshi will now hope for another opportunity in the second innings to make a stronger impression and help East Zone progress in the competition. A substantial contribution later in the match could also strengthen his case for more red-ball cricket against some of the country’s leading first-class players.
