Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may not have got a big score with the bat for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone in Chennai, but the teenager has shown tactical acumen with his sharp observations. The East Zone vice-captain plotted a couple of South Zone wickets as the teenage sensation played a key role in the dismissals of Ricky Bhui and star batter Smaran Ravichandran in the Duleep Trophy final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Sooryavanshi insisted on a review to overturn the umpire’s not-out call for Bhui’s caught-behind appeal and then used Mohammed Shami late before tea for the scalp of Ravichandran, the highest run-scorer of the previous Ranji Trophy season.
After East Zone put up a mountain of 708 on the back of captain Ishan Kishan ‘s 270, they struck early with the ball in the first session of Day 2. Mukesh Kumar zipped one down the leg side as Bhui tried guiding it to the leg side. East Zone appealed, but the umpire remained unmoved, prompting Sooryavanshi to urge Ishan to go for the review. As it turned out, there was a spike when the ball was next to the bat, with Kumar Kushagra taking the catch behind. BCCI Domestic also took note of Sooryavanshi’s suggestion. “Take it… take it. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Review. The vice-captain urges the captain to take the review, and it turns out to be successful,” BCCI Domestic wrote in a social media post.
With Mukesh and Mohammed Shami doing the damage, South Zone were 174/4 with only a few minutes remaining before tea. The 15-year-old was standing in as captain as Ishan went off the field briefly. Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi helped his team with another wicket later.
