India, Sept. 1 -- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fell short of a century in the first innings and then missed out on a half-century in the second, yet that mattered less to him, as has always been the case with the 15-year-old. His two knocks did their job for East Zone, who cruised into the Duleep Trophy 2026 final on Tuesday with a four-wicket win over Central Zone at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru.

Sooryavanshi, the vice-captain of the East Zone side, briefly stepped up for the leadership role on Day 1 after skipper Ishan Kishan left the field injured. He scored 92 in the first innings as East Zone cancelled out Central Zone's first-innings total of 266.

The kid from Bihar, keen to prove to the world that he is more than...