Vaibhav Sooryavanshi captains East Zone in Duleep Trophy

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took on a new responsibility on Sunday as he captained East Zone for the first time in senior first-class cricket during their Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone. 15-year-old Sooryavanshi, who is normally East Zone's vice-captain, stepped in after regular skipper Ishan Kishan was forced off the field with a thumb injury while keeping wickets. Kumar Kushagra replaced Kishan behind the stumps, while Sooryavanshi temporarily took charge of the team.

Sooryavanshi embraces leadership role

The youngster has been one of the talking points of East Zone's Duleep Trophy campaign. Although he managed only eight runs in the quarter-final against North East Zone, he impressed with the ball by taking two wickets. Sooryavanshi later spoke about his experience of bowling and taking responsibility for the team. "If you ask any batter, they always enjoy bowling. A batter always enjoys bowling and a bowler always enjoys batting equally," Sooryavanshi said in a video posted by BCCI Domestic.

The teenager also revealed that Kishan took a chance by giving him the ball and described himself as a "wicket-taker". "Opponent team's wickets weren't falling, so I was asked to bowl two or three overs. Ishan Bhaiya felt like he was taking a risk, but he didn't know that I am a wicket-taker," he added.

East Zone make strong start

East Zone won the toss and chose to bowl first against Rajat Patidar's Central Zone. Saransh Jain returned to the Central lineup after recently making his India debut in the Colombo Test against Sri Lanka. East's bowlers made an early impact, restricting Central to 81/3 after 32 overs in the opening session. Abhijit K Sarkar claimed two wickets, while Mukesh Kumar took one. Sarkar dismissed Aman Mokhade and Kunal Chandela early, before Mukesh removed Central captain Patidar. Mohammed Shami also kept Patidar under pressure during an intense contest as East Zone controlled the opening session.