Tilak's hundred puts South Zone on top vs North, Sooryavanshi shines

Tilak Varma's unbeaten hundred put South Zone ahead against North, while Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed 92 for East against Central. One semi turned on control, the other on collapse, leaving both ties alive.Tilak played a captain's knock to help South Zone against North (Courtesy: PTI)Tilak Varma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced contrasting but equally impressive batting displays on a dramatic second day of the Duleep Trophy semifinals, although neither South Zone nor East Zone could secure a decisive advantage. While Tilak's unbeaten century put South in command against North Zone, Sooryavanshi's attacking 92 helped East recover before a late collapse allowed Central Zone to level the contest.At the end of the day's play, South Zone were 285 for nine against North Zone, giving them a 90-run first-innings advantage after North had been dismissed for 195 on the opening day. Tilak remained unbeaten on 106 from 225 deliveries, having struck seven boundaries. Remarkably, the South captain did not hit his first four until the 154th ball he faced, choosing patience over aggression as wickets continued to fall around him.South had resumed on 40 for two but were soon in serious trouble at 80 for five. Gurnoor Brar was the chief destroyer, adding three wickets to finish with impressive figures of 4/70.N Jagadeesan, who had resumed on 34, was bowled for 36 when Brar found a delivery that moved away and took the off stump. R Smaran, after making a brisk 27 off 35 balls, was also beaten by one that straightened and crashed into the stumps. Brar then had Kodimela Himateja caught behind for a duck. With South in deep trouble, Tilak found a dependable partner in Shreyas Gopal. The pair completely changed the complexion of the innings, adding 175 runs for the sixth wicket.Gopal took the attack to the bowlers, repeatedly finding the boundary on the off side, while Tilak concentrated on rotating the strike and building his innings. The partnership carried South beyond North's total and eventually gave them a substantial lead. Gopal's resistance finally ended when Arshdeep Singh induced an outside edge that was comfortably taken by Abdul Samad at slip. The left-arm pacer 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 edged behind to give Samad his third catch of the day.Despite the late collapse, Tilak stayed composed and reached stumps unbeaten alongside Kavuri Saiteja, keeping South in front.In the other semifinal, a spectacular 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 attack with 4/66, while Yash Thakur and Aryan Pandey picked up three wickets apiece.Sooryavanshi was the standout performer, playing an aggressive 81-ball knock that lasted 118 minutes. In the process, he became the youngest player to score a fifty in Duleep Trophy history, surpassing Laxman Singh's record set in 1969 at the age of 16.The teenager's innings was anything but conventional. He survived a chance on 40 when Yash Rathod dropped a straightforward opportunity at backward point, but otherwise kept the bowlers under pressure.Sooryavanshi launched his assault 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 attacking, taking on Saransh Jain and later clearing the ropes against Dubey and Pandey.A six followed by a four pushed him into the 90s, but his attempt to complete the century ended when he picked out Arshad Khan at deep mid-wicket while attempting a slog-sweep against Dubey.Sooryavanshi had earlier shared a 161-run opening stand with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who contributed a composed 69 from 106 balls.Once Sooryavanshi departed, East's innings unravelled rapidly. Dubey struck again with Kumar Kushagra's edge finding Aman Mokhade at slip, before Pandey dismissed Easwaran, Virat Singh and Sudip Kumar Gharami.East slipped from a strong position of 213 for five and lost their final five wickets for just 53 runs. Even returning captain Ishan Kishan could not halt the slide after recovering from Sunday's injury.Central, however, 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 finely poised with Aman Mokhade unbeaten on 23 and Aryan Pandey on four.With both semifinals delicately placed, Tilak's century has put South Zone in a strong position, while Sooryavanshi's breathtaking innings has ensured the second contest remains wide open heading into the next phase.- EndsPublished On: Aug 31, 2026 19:24 IST