Duleep Trophy: Tilak’s hundred puts South Zone first over North, Sooryavanshi shines

Tilak Varma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put in contrasting but equally impressive batting displays on the dramatic second day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final, though neither South Zone nor East Zone could secure a decisive advantage. While Tilak’s unbeaten century gave South command against the North Zone, Sooryavanshi’s attacking 92 helped East recover before a late breakdown allowed Central Zone to tie the contest.

At the end of the day’s play, South Zone were 285 for nine against North Zone, giving them a 90-run advantage in the first innings after North were dismissed for 195 on the opening day. Tilak remained unbeaten on 106 off 225 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries. Notably, the South captain didn’t hit his first four until the 154th ball he faced, opting for patience over aggression as wickets kept falling around him.

South continued on 40 for two but they were soon in serious trouble at 80 for five. Gurnoor Brar was the destroyer in chief, adding three wickets to finish with impressive figures of 4/70.

N Jagadeesan, who went on for 34, was bowled for 36 when Brar found a delivery that drifted away and took off the off stump. R Smaran, after a brisk 27 off 35 balls, was also bowled by one that straightened and hit the stumps. Brar then had Kodimel Himatej caught for a duck.

With South in deep trouble, Tilak found a reliable partner in Shreyas Gopal. The pair completely changed the face of the innings and added 175 runs for the sixth wicket.

Gopal attacked the bowlers, repeatedly finding the boundary on the offside, while Tilak concentrated on rotating the strike and building the innings. The partnership carried the South beyond the borders of the North and eventually gave them a considerable lead.

Gopal’s resistance finally ended when Arshdeep Singh induced an outside edge which was comfortably taken by Abdul Samad at slip. Left arm stimulator finished with 2/59.

Gopal’s 87 came from 169 balls and included 11 fours. North then quickly removed Tanay Thyagarajan for six, while Arshdeep claimed Vidwath Kaverappa, who stayed behind to give Samad his third catch of the day.

Despite a late collapse, Tilak remained composed and alongside Kavuri Saitej reached unbeaten stumps and kept South in front.

In the other semi-final, an impressive 92 from 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not enough to give East Zone a first-innings lead over Central Zone.

East were eventually bowled out for 266, exactly matching Central’s first innings score. Harsh Dubey led the charge with 4/66 while Yash Thakur and Aryan Pandey took three wickets each.

Sooryavanshi was an outstanding performer, playing an aggressive knock of 81 balls that lasted 118 minutes. In the process, he became the youngest player to score a fifty in the history of the Duleep Trophy, surpassing Laxman Singh’s 1969 record at the age of 16.

The teenager’s shift was anything but conventional. He survived a chance on 40 when Yash Rathod dropped a direct opportunity at backward point but otherwise kept the bowlers under pressure.

Sooryavanshi started his onslaught with a huge six over mid-wicket against Yash Thakur and followed it up with four boundaries in the same spell. After Thakur changed ends, the youngster continued to attack, taking on Saransh Jain and later clearing the ropes against Dubey and Pandey.

A six followed by a four took him into the 90s but his attempt to complete the century ended when he picked out Arshad Khan at deep mid-wicket as he attempted a sweep against Dubey.

Sooryavanshi had earlier shared a 161-run opening stand with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who contributed a composed 69 off 106 balls.

Once Sooryavanshi left, East’s innings fell apart quickly. Dubey struck again with the lead of Kumar Kushagra when Aman Mokhade slipped before Pandey dismissed Easwaran, Virat Singh and Sudip Kumar Gharami.

East slipped from a strong position of 213 for five, losing their last five wickets for just 53 runs. Even returning skipper Ishan Kishan could not stop the slide after recovering from Sunday’s injury.

However, Central also stumbled in their second innings and ended the day at 45 for three. Mukesh Kumar dismissed skipper Rajat Patidar late in the day, leaving the match level with Aman Mokhade unbeaten on 23 and Aryan Pandey on four.

With both semi-finals delicately placed, Tilak’s century put South Zone in a strong position, while Sooryavanshi’s breathtaking innings ensured the second contest remains wide open heading into the next phase.

– The end

Published on:

31 Aug 2026 19:24 IST