Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again showed that his impact goes beyond his explosive batting as the teenage sensation played a key role in East Zone’s early success against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2026 final. On Day 3 in Chennai, Sooryavanshi’s sharp instincts convinced captain Ishan Kishan to take a crucial DRS review that resulted in an early wicket.
South Zone had been given a massive target to overcome after East Zone piled up a mammoth first-innings total of 708. Their task became even tougher when Ricky Bhui appeared to edge a delivery from Mukesh Kumar behind the stumps in the sixth over. However, the on-field umpire remained unconvinced and did not give the batter out.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Stunning DRS Instincts Help East Zone
Stationed at slip, Sooryavanshi was certain that Bhui had nicked the delivery and urged Kishan to review the decision. Although the captain initially appeared hesitant, he eventually trusted the youngster’s judgment and opted for the DRS.
The decision immediately vindicated Sooryavanshi. UltraEdge detected a clear spike as the ball brushed Bhui’s inside edge before reaching the wicketkeeper, resulting in the on-field decision being overturned. Bhui was dismissed, handing East Zone their first breakthrough and highlighting the 15-year-old’s impressive awareness on the field.
Sooryavanshi later encouraged Kishan to review another decision after Devdutt Padikkal was struck on the pads by Md Kounain Quraishi. This time, however, the review did not go East Zone’s way, with ball-tracking showing that the delivery would have missed the stumps. Despite the unsuccessful review, the episode underlined Sooryavanshi’s growing influence, with the youngster continuing to make his presence felt through his cricketing instincts as well as his batting.
