Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium a stunning stadium by the way, its nestled up against amazing mountain-controlled scenery; yet another exciting game in the tri-nation one-day series for India’s A-Team of youngsters taking place on Monday night (India time) as India A faced off against hosts Sri Lanka A is starting to become must-perform for either side. The match-up was high drama with semifinal spots available and a final on the horizon – it didn’t disappoint.
Sri Lanka A, won the toss and opted to field first under clear blue skies in Dambulla with rain forecast later but there were no immediate concerns. India A were second on the points table, but only behind Sri Lanka A on net run rate going into the contest, which would mean India needed a result against Afghanistan A in their final round-robin game.
The innings for India A was literally a rollercoaster ride. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the young opener who came into this series on everyone’s radar got off another sound start attacking Sri Lankan pacer Chamika Gunasekara for a six and some boundaries before falling cheaply for 21 off 14 balls as off-spinner Sahan Arachchige forced an aerial shot which was caught at point.
This left the middle order in tatters and India on the backfoot. The visitors were at one point reeling at 143 for 7 and looked unlikely to post a competitive total. Then followed the last-ditch rescue act two more all-rounders to the fore, Suryansh Shedge with 72 off 66 balls and Vipraj Nigam scoring a composed 51 off 49 balls attacking so well in an eighth wicket stand of 104 that brought India A up to 265.
Shedge smashed three fours and Two sixes, as Nigam hit Six fours in their innings. Both are frontline spinners as well as genuine lower order bats, and both have been named on what is thought to be a “targeted list” of national selectors testament to the depth being borne out of India’s domestic pathways structure.
Kumar brought back memories of how deep India can now call upon its bench strength. And now others such as Shedge and Nigam, who have raised eyebrows by performing well for their individual state sides in domestic white-ball cricket, are getting up at the A level the sort of performances that pushes the selectors towards lining them up for future senior assignments.
This will be the second time the two sides have faced each other in the tri-series. In their first match of the tournament, India A scored 277/6 in 50 overs after taking on Leicestershire on June 9, with a blazing hundred by Ruturaj Gaikwad (101 off 114 balls). Sri Lanka A fell just short in the chase, ending 269 all out at 48.5 overs with Sahan Arachchige scoring a top score of 74. That thriller ended in a narrow victory for India A, who won by 8 runs and heavily featured Gaikwad rightly winning the Man of the Match award.
The tri-nation series which is played in the limited-overs format features three teams: Afghanistan A, India A and Sri Lanka A and is taking place from June 9 to 21 in Dambulla. Also, following the end of the round-robin stage India A and Sri Lanka A will play two first-class matches between 25–28 June and 2–5 July which adds another layer to the ongoing battle with these two teams.
India A’s tri-series so far has been a mixed bag; they won against Sri Lanka A in the opening encounter but lost to Afghanistan A on DLS-method in match two after India made a mighty 349/9 in their score quota, only to miss by 4 runs under revised calculations. In match three, however, Sri Lanka A bounced back in style, defeating Afghanistan A by a massive 8 wickets.
Booming rivalry with the first-class fixtures also in line, the ongoing India A vs Sri Lanka A series is poised to become one of the most exciting A-team rivalries of this season. Each outing for India’s young guns Sooryavanshi, Shedge, Nigam, Gaikwad and Tilak Varma is an audition for better things on Monday Dambulla was no different.
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