The tri-nation series final turned out to be the most anticlimactic event for a tournament that has seen so much drama over the last week. India A vs Sri Lanka A’s third match in this series came on the build-up of a chaotic Super Over, and before that, a late change of fortunes. But on Sunday, June 21, India absolutely nailed Sri Lanka A to snatch away the trophy at the Ranagiri Stadium in Dambulla.
Sent in to bat first, India piled on 377 runs, courtesy of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s breathtaking 94-run knock. Vaibhav’s incredible assault was doubled up by India’s bowlers – especially Yash Thakur, who dismantled the Sri Lankan top order inside the first 10 overs of the chase, killing the game early for the India A side.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the most defining story of the day. The young batter, still just 15 years of age, came into the match on the back of a string of short cameos and an ugly brawl against the Sri Lanka A players.
Vaibhav had not taken kindly to being mocked by the Sri Lankan players after India A’s Super Over loss in the group stage and had shoved one of the players during a scuffle.
On Sunday, Vaibhav came out to bat with murderous intent.
The first ball: whacked for four down the ground.
The second ball: top edge on the attempted pull. Over the keeper for a boundary.
The third ball: pulled through deep mid-wicket for four.
Then came the sixes, three against Mohammed Shiraz in the 3rd over.
In absolutely no time, Vaibhav reached his fifty. The boss baby reached his milestone in just 11 balls – the fastest ever in List A history.
In those 11 balls that brought up his fifty, there was just one dot ball.
India A vs Sri Lanka A Final: Highlights
Vaibhav’s first single of the day came when he was already batting on 64, eyeing the fastest hundred in the history of List A cricket. It made sense that he would get there. Just last month, he was standing on the brink of hitting the fastest hundred in the history of the Indian Premier League. For how long could Sri Lanka A be safe from his wrath? That too after riling him up like that in the last game.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was standing on the brink of that record in the 9th over itself, having hit 94 runs in just 28 balls. One more hit, and he would have equalled Australia’s Jake Fraser-McGurk for the record of the fastest List A hundred.
But once again, it was not to be. Batting against Sri Lanka captain Sahan Arachchige, who had dismissed him in the last game, Vaibhav handed a catch straight to mid-off, failing to get the elevation required on the lofted drive.
His innings ended at 94 off 29, agonisingly short of his hundred.
By then, Sri Lanka were stunned. Unlike the last game, no one came to his face to celebrate, nobody danced around in the Sri Lankan line-up. They knew by the 9th over mark that they had lost the game.
Senior Sri Lanka A player Niroshan Dickwella patted Sooryavanshi on the back, said “good knock”, and went on his way.
INDIA SHOW COMPLETE DOMINANCE IN TRI-SERIES FINAL
By the 10th over mark, India had scored 140 runs for the loss of two wickets – openers Vaibhav and Priyansh Arya. The left-handed duo had picked apart the pace bowling attack, handing India a dream start to the final.
Vaibhav’s shots today were particularly impressive because he was able to open himself up and access the off-side, lofting the ball over covers time and again to punish the Sri Lankan line-up.
The majority of the batters got starts – Priyansh (39), Ruturaj Gaikwad (40), Tilak Varma (67), Kumar Kushagra (36), Vipraj Nigam (27), and Anukul Roy (39) combined to hand India a mammoth total of 377 runs.
The only blip came between the 39th and 42nd over mark, where India lost three quick wickets – Kushagra, Tilak and Suryansh Shedge (2) – and looked in danger of losing their way. But that was balanced out by Anukul Roy’s incredible assault in the final two overs, which provided India the perfect finish to their batting innings.
YASH THAKUR STANDS UP
The only way Sri Lanka A were going to stay in the game was with a sensational start. One would have backed the hosts to be able to do that given the way their top order has scored runs in nearly every single game.
India A, in their last two games, struggled to get the Sri Lankan openers out, which caused major issues with their ability to control the game.
However, things were very different on Sunday, as Yash Thakur’s spirited spell in the powerplay wiped out both openers – Avishka Fernando and Niroshan Dickwella – inside the first five overs of the game. Thakur’s pace and angles had both batters reeling. Avishka edged the ball to Ruturaj at slip, while Dickwella had his stumps shattered from around the wicket.
Sri Lanka were eventually three wickets down inside the first 10 overs, wiping out any chance of staying in the game.
Sri Lanka’s method today seemed to be simple – either hit or get out. And that approach did not pay off for the hosts on Sunday. Sadeera Samarawickrama (52), Sahan Arachchige (38), Wanuja Sahan (62), and Vijaykanth Viyaskanth (39) fought bravely, but they simply were not able to save enough wickets to provide the final push for the hosts in Dambulla today.
LEARNINGS FROM THE TRI-SERIES
The lower order of the Sri Lanka A side dragged the match on till a point where they needed 103 runs in the final 10 overs – quite doable by today’s standards – but they simply did not have enough wickets in the kitty to back that endeavour.
And that’s perhaps why this game from India A was so impressive on all fronts because, despite that rapid start in the first 10 overs, Tilak Varma and Ruturaj Gaikwad had the maturity to slow down the innings on the spin-friendly surface and wait till the time was right to provide the final push.
What India would perhaps want from their young bowlers is more incision through the middle overs, where they can pick up regular wickets and kill games instead of letting them get dragged on till the final overs of the match.
The match got dragged on till the 48th over, where Vipraj Nigam was finally able to trap fast bowler Mohamed Shiraz at backward point. India registered a massive win in by 66 runs to claim the trophy on Sunday.
– Ends
