East Zone captain Ishan Kishan won the toss and chose to bat first against South Zone.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhimanyu Easwaran opened the innings for East Zone and added 100 runs for the first wicket. Easwaran made 72 runs with 10 fours and one six in 86 balls, while Sooryavanshi smashed 44 in 37 balls with 5 fours and one six before being dismissed by Chama Milind.
The pair had a successful partnership they had built during the knockout matches and helped their team settle quickly.
Before hitting pacer Mohammed Siraj in the seventh over, the 15-year-old had quickly reached the 20-run mark. He hit a cut shot past point for four to start the over. He cleared his front leg and smacked a straight six over long-off on the very next ball, punishing a full delivery.
Thereafter, Siraj changed to around the wicket, but he bowled a full ball in the slot once again. In the same shot, Sooryavanshi played the same shot over long-off. over long-off by Sooryavanshi. The ball sped away for four this time, giving him three boundaries in the over, even if it did not cross the ropes.
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At the time of writing this piece, East Zone had made 144/2 with Shikhar Mohan (22*) and Sudip Kumar Gharami (5*) at the crease.