311/10 (47.1)
CR : 6.59
377/9 (50.0)
CR : 7.54
India A won by 66 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
V Sooryavanshi
94(29)
Over 48
Sri Lanka A 311/10
Mohamed Shiraz21(33)
Kugadas Mathulan0(3)
Vipraj Nigam3-60(9.1)
IND-A won by 66 runs
6:05 PM IST, Local Time: India-A win by 66 Runs! This has been a hammering from India-A! They have ruled the roost from ball 1 today. Sri Lanka-A had their moments with ball and bat. In fact, at a couple of points in the chase, they looked like getting to the target. However, in the end 378 proved to be too much as the hosts crumbled down.
Sri Lanka-A won the toss and elected to bowl first. That proved to backfire as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi blasted the bowlers in the first 10 overs. He reached 50 off just 11 balls creating an all-time record in List A cricket. He eventually was dismissed for 94 off 29 and alongside Priyansh Arya he pushed India to 140/2 in the powerplay.
The game pretty much was India's at that point because they got the perfect headstart. Tilak Varma and Ruturaj Gaikwad stitched 84 runs for the 3rd wicket. Ruturaj was dismissed for 40. Kumar Kushagra joined Tilak and they added 63 for the 4th wicket. The score was pushed to 283/3. Tilak crossed 50. That is when a mini collapse took place. Both the set batters were dismissed and from 283/3, India slipped to 289/6.
Vipraj Nigam and Nishant Sindhu added 40 odd for the 7th wicket before both the batters were dismissed in quick succession leaving India at 334/8. It looked like India had messed up a great start but a fantastic 39 off 15 from Anukul Roy at the backend propelled India past 370 which was always going to be a tough ask for the visitors. The pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka was Wanuja Sahan for his 2-39. The target was 378 and it needed a good powerplay to be tracked down.
That is exactly what Sri Lanka did not get. They scored aggressively but that came with an element of risk. Yash Thakur bowled beautifully and broke the back of the chase in the first 10 overs. He took out the likes of Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella and Nuwanidu Fernando in the powerplay. Avishka was dismissed early but Dickwella and Nuwanidu got starts of 25 and 21 but could not capitalise. Sri Lanka were reeling at 78/3 in the powerplay.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Sahan Arachchige added 53 for the fourth wicket and it looked like they were rebuilding well. However, that is when Sadeera was nicked off by Ashok Sharma for 52. Sahan had two partnerships of 28 and 21 with Ravindu Fernando and Wanuja Sahan. That was the story of the innings that partnerships looked like they would blossom but came to an abrupt end. When Sahan Arachchige was dismissed for 38 the score stood at 177/6.
It looked like Sri Lanka would get bowled out for 220. That is when Wanuja Sahan and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth added 77 for the 7th wicket, renewing hope. India knew they were just one wicket away from killing the match completely. They got it after a long wait when Viyaskanth mistimed a slog to deep midwicket and was dismissed for 39. Sri Lanka was 254/7 at that point.
Wanuja pushed for a bit before getting knocked over for a well-made 62. Mohamed Shiraz and Dulaj Samuditha came up with some late blows, but they were never going to be enough as Sri Lanka were rolled over for 311. The pick of the bowlers were Yash Thakur (3-45) and Vipraj Nigam (3-60).
Sri Lanka-A won the toss and elected to bowl first. That proved to backfire as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi blasted the bowlers in the first 10 overs. He reached 50 off just 11 balls creating an all-time record in List A cricket. He eventually was dismissed for 94 off 29 and alongside Priyansh Arya he pushed India to 140/2 in the powerplay.
The game pretty much was India's at that point because they got the perfect headstart. Tilak Varma and Ruturaj Gaikwad stitched 84 runs for the 3rd wicket. Ruturaj was dismissed for 40. Kumar Kushagra joined Tilak and they added 63 for the 4th wicket. The score was pushed to 283/3. Tilak crossed 50. That is when a mini collapse took place. Both the set batters were dismissed and from 283/3, India slipped to 289/6.
Vipraj Nigam and Nishant Sindhu added 40 odd for the 7th wicket before both the batters were dismissed in quick succession leaving India at 334/8. It looked like India had messed up a great start but a fantastic 39 off 15 from Anukul Roy at the backend propelled India past 370 which was always going to be a tough ask for the visitors. The pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka was Wanuja Sahan for his 2-39. The target was 378 and it needed a good powerplay to be tracked down.
That is exactly what Sri Lanka did not get. They scored aggressively but that came with an element of risk. Yash Thakur bowled beautifully and broke the back of the chase in the first 10 overs. He took out the likes of Avishka Fernando, Niroshan Dickwella and Nuwanidu Fernando in the powerplay. Avishka was dismissed early but Dickwella and Nuwanidu got starts of 25 and 21 but could not capitalise. Sri Lanka were reeling at 78/3 in the powerplay.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Sahan Arachchige added 53 for the fourth wicket and it looked like they were rebuilding well. However, that is when Sadeera was nicked off by Ashok Sharma for 52. Sahan had two partnerships of 28 and 21 with Ravindu Fernando and Wanuja Sahan. That was the story of the innings that partnerships looked like they would blossom but came to an abrupt end. When Sahan Arachchige was dismissed for 38 the score stood at 177/6.
It looked like Sri Lanka would get bowled out for 220. That is when Wanuja Sahan and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth added 77 for the 7th wicket, renewing hope. India knew they were just one wicket away from killing the match completely. They got it after a long wait when Viyaskanth mistimed a slog to deep midwicket and was dismissed for 39. Sri Lanka was 254/7 at that point.
Wanuja pushed for a bit before getting knocked over for a well-made 62. Mohamed Shiraz and Dulaj Samuditha came up with some late blows, but they were never going to be enough as Sri Lanka were rolled over for 311. The pick of the bowlers were Yash Thakur (3-45) and Vipraj Nigam (3-60).
Time for the post-match presentations...
Player of the Match: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (POTM): "[On his approach towards the final] I had not thought a lot. I was just trying to back my game in the first 10 overs.
[Was he under any pressure?] No, I had no pressure on myself. I was just not able to execute well so far. I spoke to the coaches, practiced on my plans and then today the result was fruitful.
[His learnings from the series] There is a lot to learn from the series. I have played a lot of 50 overs cricket. Many think I don't play a lot of that. But I do. It was fun playing in different conditions for the first time."
[Was he under any pressure?] No, I had no pressure on myself. I was just not able to execute well so far. I spoke to the coaches, practiced on my plans and then today the result was fruitful.
[His learnings from the series] There is a lot to learn from the series. I have played a lot of 50 overs cricket. Many think I don't play a lot of that. But I do. It was fun playing in different conditions for the first time."
Sahan Arachchige (Sri Lanka-A Captain): "[Where did the match slip?] After Sooryavanshi played a brilliant innings, we made a good comeback, but we let it off in the last 2 overs of their innings.
[Did the bowlers feel clueless against Sooryavanshi?] Yes, after his brilliant innings in the powerplay we thought we didn't have much of a chance against him. However, we made a good comeback post that.
[On losing wickets regularly in the chase] It happens often when we chase a big score. Unfortunately, no one could push along.
[Learnings from the tournament] Yes, the young boys played really well. Even the senior players played really well so it was good for everyone."
[Did the bowlers feel clueless against Sooryavanshi?] Yes, after his brilliant innings in the powerplay we thought we didn't have much of a chance against him. However, we made a good comeback post that.
[On losing wickets regularly in the chase] It happens often when we chase a big score. Unfortunately, no one could push along.
[Learnings from the tournament] Yes, the young boys played really well. Even the senior players played really well so it was good for everyone."
Tilak Varma (India-A Captain): "[How pleasing was the win?] Absolutely. Everyone showed real character in this tournament. Especially after we lost back-to-back matches against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, to win a game by a big margin was a tremendous effort.
[On playing so well in the big moments] Everyone has played a lot of domestic games, so everyone is used to this. It is just about executing in the middle. If you see, we attack in the powerplay, then we play a certain way in the middle overs. Then we attack in the backend. We are always sure that we have big hitters in the team who can get us to a big score.
[Learnings from the tournament] Honestly, the batting was very good and up to the mark. However, I was disappointed with the bowling. It does happen in the odd series. We have a very good bowling attack, but we know we were not up to the mark."
[On playing so well in the big moments] Everyone has played a lot of domestic games, so everyone is used to this. It is just about executing in the middle. If you see, we attack in the powerplay, then we play a certain way in the middle overs. Then we attack in the backend. We are always sure that we have big hitters in the team who can get us to a big score.
[Learnings from the tournament] Honestly, the batting was very good and up to the mark. However, I was disappointed with the bowling. It does happen in the odd series. We have a very good bowling attack, but we know we were not up to the mark."
Tilak Varma collects the winner's trophy, and his team joins him for smiles and photographs behind the winner's board!
It has been a fantastic tournament for those who feel ODI cricket is still relevant. With multiple matches going down the wire, the three teams on show, showed great tenacity and application.
Eventually sport has one winner and it was India-A who took the honours for this tournament. The Indian teams are making a good habit of winning white ball tournaments, and they can proudly add this to the list. The hype was around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and the kid did not disappoint anyone as he came up with a scintillating performance on the big day!
With this we wrap up our coverage of the Tri-nation ODI series. It was great joy bringing this to you. Don't worry! Cricket never sleeps. There is a lot of action coming up across the globe and we shall cover everything for you.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleague Sahil Khan. Adios!!!
Eventually sport has one winner and it was India-A who took the honours for this tournament. The Indian teams are making a good habit of winning white ball tournaments, and they can proudly add this to the list. The hype was around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and the kid did not disappoint anyone as he came up with a scintillating performance on the big day!
With this we wrap up our coverage of the Tri-nation ODI series. It was great joy bringing this to you. Don't worry! Cricket never sleeps. There is a lot of action coming up across the globe and we shall cover everything for you.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleague Sahil Khan. Adios!!!