Friday Sep 18, 2026
Friday Sep 18, 2026
Monday, 22 June 2026 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
India ‘A’ celebrate winning the ‘A’ team One-Day Tri-Series final
Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi saved his best innings of the tournament for the last when he smashed 94 off just 29 balls to give India ‘A’ a comfortable 66-run victory in the ‘A’ team One-Day Tri-Series final against Sri Lanka ‘A’ at the Rangiri Dambulla Cricket Stadium yesterday.
In a ruthless display of hitting the left-handed youngster struck 10 fours and eight sixes racing to the fastest List A fifty off only 11 balls as the Indian batting unit produced its best performance of the tournament racing to a daunting total of 377-9.
Chasing a total of that magnitude Sri Lanka ‘A’ needed a big contribution from at least one of their top order batters, but it never came. None of the batters were able to convert their starts into a match-defining innings and they were eventually out for 311 in 47.1 overs.
The game swung decisively in India ‘A’s favour when Yash Thakur removed Sri Lanka’s top three batters in the first power play. Sadeera Samarawickrama and Wanuja Sahan got fifties and kept the required run rate under control, but Sri Lanka continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. In the end, their chase never gathered enough momentum, and they finished well short of the target.
After a rather subdued start to the series Sooryavanshi lit up the final beginning with two consecutive fours of Mohamed Shiraz before plundering 26 runs off the third over off the same bowler. Such was the carnage on display that his first 54 runs all came in fours and sixes, but a tough chance was put down by the mid-on fielder after a skier and Sooryavanshi received another reprieve soon after for which he made Sri Lanka ‘A’ pay dearly. He was on track to equal Jake Fraser-McGurk’s record for the fastest List A hundred but ended up spooning a catch to mid-off, bringing his innings to a close and ending an opening partnership of 132 off 53 balls with Priyansh Ariya (39).
Ruturaj Gaikwad (40) and Captain Tilak Varma (67 off 90 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) shared an 84-run partnership off 106 balls to put India ‘A’ on course for a huge total. Varma added a further 63 off 70 balls with Kumar Kushagra (36) when India ‘A’ suffered a mild collapse losing three wickets for six runs. But Anukul Roy slammed 39 off 15 balls (1 fours, 4 sixes) including 24 off the final over off Kugathas Mathulan to take India ‘A’ to a whopping 377-9.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ got off to a quick start courtesy Niroshan Dickwella (25 off 17) but the in-form Avishka Fernando fell cheaply for just three. Nuwanidu Fernando was out for 21 after forging a breezy 42-run stand with Sadeera Samarawickrama who raised a 41-ball half-century (9 fours) before knicking a catch behind.
Skipper Sahan Arachchige’s dismissal for 38 proved to be the writing on the wall, even though Wanuja Sahan (62 off 69, 5 fours) did not go down without a fight, combining forces with Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (39 off 34) for a partnership of 77 runs off 70 balls. India ‘A’ will next play a two-match 4-day unofficial test series with Sri Lanka ‘A’ commencing 25 June at Galle. – [ST]
Scores:
India ‘A’ 377-9 (50) (Priyansh Arya 39, Vaibhav Sooriyavanshi 94, Ruturaj Gaikwad 40, Tilak Varma 67, Kumar Kushagra 36, Vipraj Nigam 27, Anukul Roy 39, Kugathas Mathulan 2/82, Ravindu Fernando 2/72, Wanuja Sahan 2/39)
Sri Lanka ‘A’ 311 (47.1) (Niroshan Dickwella 25, Nuwanidu Fernando 21, Sadeera Samarawickrama 52, Sahan Arachchige 38, Wanuja Sahan 62, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 39, Mohamed Shiraz 21, Yash Thakur 3/45, Vipraj Nigam 3/60, Anukul Roy 2/42)
