269/10 (48.5)
CR : 5.51
277/6 (50.0)
CR : 5.54
India A won by 8 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Ruturaj Gaikwad
101(114)
This is a brilliant comeback from India A! Vipraj Nigam takes a stunner running in from deep square! Crazy over from Arshad Khan, and out of nowhere India A run away with an eight-run victory!!!
M Shiraz 0(3)
c V Nigam b A Khan
4s/6s
0/0
SR
0.00
Over 49
Sri Lanka A 269/10
Mohamed Shiraz0(3)
Garuka Sanketh0(0)
Arshad Khan2-24(4.5)
IND-A won by 8 runs
6:11 PM IST, Local Time: Phew! One of the best 50-over games in recent times! A proper team effort from India A saw them get away with an eight-run win over Sri Lanka A in this Tri-Nation A series curtain-raiser! This game swung like a pendulum, with the hosts in control of the game for the major part of the run chase, but some game awareness and an excellent comeback in the final stages of the fixture helped the visitors come out on top!
Earlier in the day, India A won the toss and opted to bat first. The wonder kid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh were dismissed early, while Priyansh Arya, who got a start, had to sacrifice his wicket after a mix-up with Ruturaj Gaikwad. India A were struggling at 69/3 before Gaikwad and skipper Tilak Varma rebuilt with a fabulous 150-run fourth-wicket stand. Gaikwad hit a century in his 100th List-A game, while Varma started slowly but anchored the innings with a calm 60 off 97 balls. India A lost both of them in quick succession, and useful cameos from Ayush Badoni and Suryansh Shedge helped them reach 277/6.
For Sri Lanka A, Mohamed Shiraz picked up two wickets, including that of Sooryavanshi, but was expensive. Chamika Karunaratne, Wanuja Sahan and Garuka Sanketh each picked up a wicket.
Experienced openers Niroshan Dickwella and Avishka Fernando gave Sri Lanka a solid start, adding 93 runs for the first wicket. Ayush Badoni (2/46) struck with his golden arm to get rid of both set batters in their 40s post the first drinks break. Vipraj Nigam then joined the party to bamboozle Nuwanidu Fernando to leave the hosts in a spot of bother at 109/3.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Sahan Arachchige added 78 runs for the 4th wicket, bringing the team back into the game. Anukul Roy (2/49) was taken to the cleaners by Sadeera in one over but had his man on the last ball, with the right-hander throwing his wicket away in the 40s.
Arachchige was the lone warrior with wickets tumbling at the other end and was finding the regular boundaries to keep the side in the hunt. He scored 74 off 72 balls but had no response to Anshuk Kamboj's yorker in the 48th over. The likes of Chamika Karunaratne and Wanuja Sahan gave him some support, with the former really struggling to get away and getting holed out off Vipraj (2/46). Wanuja was going really well, scoring 23 off 16 balls and hitting some handy boundaries to drag the game back completely in Sri Lanka A's court.
With 22 needed off 24 balls, Arshad Khan gave away only 5 runs in the 47th over, before Kamboj (1/47) conceded 7 runs and dismissed the Lankan skipper in the next over. Still, Sri Lanka A only needed 10 off 12 balls, but Arshad (2/24) bowled a brilliant penultimate over to give only 1 run and dismiss the tailenders, while he also saw Ruturaj Gaikwad show the presence of mind to run out the key batter Wanuja Sahan in between the chaos to pull off a stunning win for India A!
Stay tuned for the post-match ceremony!
Earlier in the day, India A won the toss and opted to bat first. The wonder kid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh were dismissed early, while Priyansh Arya, who got a start, had to sacrifice his wicket after a mix-up with Ruturaj Gaikwad. India A were struggling at 69/3 before Gaikwad and skipper Tilak Varma rebuilt with a fabulous 150-run fourth-wicket stand. Gaikwad hit a century in his 100th List-A game, while Varma started slowly but anchored the innings with a calm 60 off 97 balls. India A lost both of them in quick succession, and useful cameos from Ayush Badoni and Suryansh Shedge helped them reach 277/6.
For Sri Lanka A, Mohamed Shiraz picked up two wickets, including that of Sooryavanshi, but was expensive. Chamika Karunaratne, Wanuja Sahan and Garuka Sanketh each picked up a wicket.
Experienced openers Niroshan Dickwella and Avishka Fernando gave Sri Lanka a solid start, adding 93 runs for the first wicket. Ayush Badoni (2/46) struck with his golden arm to get rid of both set batters in their 40s post the first drinks break. Vipraj Nigam then joined the party to bamboozle Nuwanidu Fernando to leave the hosts in a spot of bother at 109/3.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Sahan Arachchige added 78 runs for the 4th wicket, bringing the team back into the game. Anukul Roy (2/49) was taken to the cleaners by Sadeera in one over but had his man on the last ball, with the right-hander throwing his wicket away in the 40s.
Arachchige was the lone warrior with wickets tumbling at the other end and was finding the regular boundaries to keep the side in the hunt. He scored 74 off 72 balls but had no response to Anshuk Kamboj's yorker in the 48th over. The likes of Chamika Karunaratne and Wanuja Sahan gave him some support, with the former really struggling to get away and getting holed out off Vipraj (2/46). Wanuja was going really well, scoring 23 off 16 balls and hitting some handy boundaries to drag the game back completely in Sri Lanka A's court.
With 22 needed off 24 balls, Arshad Khan gave away only 5 runs in the 47th over, before Kamboj (1/47) conceded 7 runs and dismissed the Lankan skipper in the next over. Still, Sri Lanka A only needed 10 off 12 balls, but Arshad (2/24) bowled a brilliant penultimate over to give only 1 run and dismiss the tailenders, while he also saw Ruturaj Gaikwad show the presence of mind to run out the key batter Wanuja Sahan in between the chaos to pull off a stunning win for India A!
Stay tuned for the post-match ceremony!
Player of the Match: Ruturaj Gaikwad
Ruturaj Gaikwad (Player of the Match): "[on his 21st List-A ton in 100th List-A game] I didn't know any of the stat. Good to get a hundred and the win factor helps as well. It is important that a set batter plays throughout and glad that it happened.
[on the plan] We had lost 3 wickets. At any stage we didn't want the new batter to face in the middle overs. That was the talk with Tilak. Credit to the Sri Lankan bowlers, they pulled it back really well. At one stage we were looking at a score over 290."
[on the plan] We had lost 3 wickets. At any stage we didn't want the new batter to face in the middle overs. That was the talk with Tilak. Credit to the Sri Lankan bowlers, they pulled it back really well. At one stage we were looking at a score over 290."
Sahan Arachchige (Sri Lanka A Captain): "[When did the game go away from them?] I think after I got out. After that, we got back into the game, but Wanuja got run out.
[About Sadeera's wicket timing] We had the problem before that. Sadeera played well, but got out. Still, before Wanuja's run out, we were doing well.
[On the toss] We thought it would spin in the evening, but when I was batting, it didn't spin. The wicket was good."
[About Sadeera's wicket timing] We had the problem before that. Sadeera played well, but got out. Still, before Wanuja's run out, we were doing well.
[On the toss] We thought it would spin in the evening, but when I was batting, it didn't spin. The wicket was good."
Tilak Varma (India A Captain): [on where did the team got back] The way Sahan batted was incredible. The yorker Anshul bowled was a very crucial wicket. Anshul and Arshad didn't bowl much in the first spell but closed out really well.
[on whether the surface changed] It didn't change much. It would have been even more slower in the 2nd innings. 270 was good but we'll just see how in good areas and come back in the next game.
[on this series] I have already said before the tournament that playing in Sri Lanka in this series, there will be really a good competition. They won the ODI series against us last year. I am glad that first game finished on our side."
[on whether the surface changed] It didn't change much. It would have been even more slower in the 2nd innings. 270 was good but we'll just see how in good areas and come back in the next game.
[on this series] I have already said before the tournament that playing in Sri Lanka in this series, there will be really a good competition. They won the ODI series against us last year. I am glad that first game finished on our side."
That's it from our coverage! Glad to be part of this thrilling game of cricket, with India A managing to hold their nerve and pull off a magical eight-run win against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla! The next game is on Thursday between India A and Afghanistan A. We will bring it live as well.
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Ninaad Dixit and scorer Sahil Khan. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Ninaad Dixit and scorer Sahil Khan. We will meet again. Until then, it is cheers!