Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned the favour to South Zone captain Tilak Varma during the Duleep Trophy final, producing a light-hearted but fiery exchange on Day 4.
The East Zone vice-captain had earlier been on the receiving end of some words from Tilak on the opening day of the match. With East Zone now firmly in control, Vaibhav found an opportunity to respond.
The incident occurred during South Zone’s innings when the team had lost eight wickets while chasing East Zone’s huge first-innings total of 708. Tilak was trying to hold the innings together when Vaibhav approached him and exchanged a few words before calmly walking away.
The moment mirrored their interaction from Day 1, when Tilak had spoken to the young batter as East Zone’s openers attacked South’s bowlers.
East Zone’s dominant performance had left South under immense pressure. Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar repeatedly struck with the ball as wickets fell despite favourable batting conditions.
Tilak was among the few South batters offering resistance, but East remained close to wrapping up the final.
For Vaibhav, the exchange with Tilak provided a memorable twist to a match that had increasingly gone East Zone’s way.