NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made history on Monday by becoming the youngest player to score a half-century in Duleep Trophy. The teenager achieved the feat at 15 years and 157 days during the semifinal match between East Zone and Central Zone, which is currently underway at the BCCI Center of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru.
Sooryavanshi in the process overtook Laxman Singh, who held the previous record at 16 years and 23 days. He achieved the feat in 1969, and the record remained untouched for 57 years. Piyush Chawla had scored a half-century at 16 years and 307 days in the Duleep Trophy back in 2005.
Sooryavanshi, however, was painfully unable to shatter another record, which would have seen him surpass batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. He would have broken the 36-year-old record held by Tendulkar as the youngest centurion in Duleep Trophy. Tendulkar struck a century during the 1990–91 edition at the age of 17 years and 262 days. Sooryavanshi was dismissed for 92 off 81 balls.
Meanwhile, if Sooryavanshi would have completed his ton, he would have been the second-youngest Indian to record a First-Class century. Dhruv Pandove of Punjab holds the record, having accomplished it against Jammu & Kashmir during the 1988–89 Ranji Trophy season at 14 years and 293 days.
