Duleep Trophy: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s storm ends after a stunning catch by Rajat Patidar
Central Zone captain Rajat Patidar looked to end Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s knock in East Zone’s chase of 159 in the Duleep Trophy semi-final in Bengaluru on Tuesday, September 1. Rajat took one of the best catches of the tournament, running from the 30-yard circle near the mid-dive area.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi attacked Vidarbha fast bowler Yash Thakur, who shifted gears after a cautious start. In the 14th over of the contest, Sooryavanshi took on Yash, hitting him for a six and a three in the first four deliveries.
However, on the final delivery of the 14th over, Sooryavanshi went for a wild stroke that soared into the afternoon sky before Rajat completed the catch. The RCB skipper remained composed while running back and held on to a sensational catch.
Sooryavanshi once again showed a calmer side to his bat and preferred patience as he started chasing the eastern zone with senior opener Abhimanyu Easwaran. Sooryavanshi started the Test spell with the new ball from medium pacer Aryan Pandey and off-spinner Saransh Jain.
It was in the eighth over that Sooryavanshi hit the first six of the innings before Easwaran sent Saransh’s floating delivery into the mid-wicket stand.
The two openers added a combined 61 runs before Sooryavanshi fell for 40 off 43 balls. Soon after, Easwaran also fell to left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey.
East Zone slumped from 61 for 0 to 93 for 3 as Harsh Dubey picked up another wicket and dismissed Virat Singh for 12.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was a vital contributor for East Zone in their semi-final run. After Central Zone posted 266 in the first innings, Vaibhav smashed an 81 ball 92, hitting seven sixes and as many boundaries. In the first innings as well, Vaibhav and Easwaran gave the team a solid start and added 161 runs to the opening stand.
However, East Zone lost their last nine wickets for just 105 runs and failed to build a substantial lead.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
01 Sep 2026 16:04 IST