Follow Vaibhav Sooryavanshi live in action in Duleep Trophy semifinal. (SCL)The Duleep Trophy 2026-27 semifinals are into their second day, with defending champions Central Zone and last year’s runners-up South Zone looking to take control of their respective matches. Central, who earned a direct entry to the last four, are up against a confident East Zone side that stormed into the semifinals with a crushing innings-and-210-run win over North East Zone. Meanwhile, South Zone face a North Zone team riding high on momentum after their 52-run quarterfinal victory over West Zone.At the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru, all eyes will be on 15-year-old East Zone vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, though his first-class numbers (215 runs from 13 innings at 16.53) suggest he still has plenty to prove. The teenage prodigy took over the captaincy baton for a brief period when Ishan Kishan left the field on day 1.Story continues below this adOn the opening day of the semifinals, East Zone won the toss and elected to bowl against defending champions Central Zone. The decision paid off as Central were bundled out for 266 in 80.1 overs, with Rinku Singh top-scoring with a counter-attacking 60 off 88 balls. Abhijit Sarkar (3/38) and Mukesh Kumar (3/56) led the East Zone bowling attack. In the other semifinal, North Zone chose to bat first but were restricted to 195 all out, thanks to Vidwath Kaverappa’s four-wicket haul. In reply, South Zone ended the day at 40/2, still trailing by 155 runs.Scroll down to follow East Zone vs Central Zone & North Zone vs South Zone 2026 Duleep Trophy semifinals live updatesLive UpdatesAug 31, 2026 09:22 AM ISTDuleep Trophy 2026 Semifinals Live Updates, Day 2: What has happened in the game thus far?East Zone vs Central Zone (CoE Ground 1): Central Zone were bundled out for 266 after being invited to bat first on day 1. Batting in the second innings, the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be at the crease and the main attraction of the day.North Zone vs South Zone (CoE Ground 2): South Zone are trailing by 155 runs in their first innings against North Zone. After bowling out North Zone for 195, South Zone had reached 40 for 2 at the end of Day 1. They will resume their innings with Narayan Jagadeesan (34) and Tilak Varma (1) at the crease.Aug 31, 2026 09:10 AM ISTDuleep Trophy 2026 Semifinals Live Updates, Day 2: Hello!Hello and welcome to Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy semifinals!After a dramatic opening day where 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi briefly took over the captaincy from an injured Ishan Kishan, all eyes will now be on the young vice-captain as he walks out to bat for East Zone. Can the teenage sensation back up his leadership cameo with a big knock at the crease?Shaik Rasheed, the 21-year-old being groomed to replace Kohli and Rohit at No. 3Shaik Rasheed begins the new season with renewed hope that he remains among the top-order batsmen selectors are watching closely. (SLC)At the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Shaik Rasheed has just taken a blow to the ribs. It’s enough to floor him, force a short break, an ice pack, a moment to sit. When he gets back on his feet and returns to the nets, he asks the throwdown specialist to send the same delivery that troubled him. For the next 30-odd minutes he works through it, his back-foot cover drives the pick of the lot by the end.It’s the influence of Joe Root in him, a batsman whose videos he watches constantly, idolises enough to have the same “66” on the back of his T-shirt. “I watch a lot of Root’s videos,” Rasheed tells The Indian Express. “I really like his back-foot punch cover drive because it is my favourite shot. When I see his batting, I learn a lot. I can connect with him. When I watch him play, I feel I’m playing. I want to learn from him how he constructs his innings in different conditions.” (READ MORE)Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd