Vaibhav Sooryavanshi suffers disappointing loss after becoming youngest T20 captain

Dubai: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s record-breaking start as a T20 captain ended in disappointment as Bihar suffered a defeat against Saurashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Saturday.

The 15-year-old made history at the Holkar Stadium in Indore by becoming the youngest captain in T20 cricket at 15 years and 232 days. However, his first outing as skipper did not go according to plan, with Bihar losing the contest in the 16th over with 21 balls remaining.

Sooryavanshi surpassed Croatia’s Zach Vukusic, who was 17 years and 311 days old when he captained his national side in a T20 international. The teenager’s appointment as Bihar captain for the opening two matches of the tournament had already attracted considerable attention.

But his personal contribution with the bat was limited to 18 runs from 12 deliveries. He was dismissed by Chetan Sakariya, who caught and bowled the young opener to give Saurashtra an important breakthrough.

Bihar struggled to build a substantial total after being sent in to bat, finishing on 137-9 in their 20 overs. Prithvi Raj provided some resistance with a 38-run innings, but the rest of the batting line-up failed to capitalise.

Sakariya and Prerak Mankad were the pick of the Saurashtra bowlers, claiming three wickets each to restrict Bihar to a modest total.

In reply, Saurashtra made a decent start through openers Vishvaraj Jadeja and Harvik Desai. However, Bihar fought back through Suraj Kashyap, who picked up three wickets to put some pressure on the chasing side.

Despite losing five wickets during the chase, Saurashtra maintained control and eventually reached the target with 21 deliveries to spare, handing Sooryavanshi a 5-wicket defeat in his first match as captain.

The teenager has limited time left with the Bihar side before joining India A for the ACC Rising Stars Emerging tournament, which will be played in the 50-over format in Doha from November 19.

Bihar will next face Railways on November 16, with the youngster hoping to sign off from his brief captaincy stint with a better result.

Despite the disappointing start, Sooryavanshi’s appointment remains a significant milestone in his rapidly developing career. The teenager has already established himself as one of India’s most exciting young batting prospects, and his latest record adds another achievement to his growing list.