Ind A Vs Sl A: India A defeated Sri Lanka A and became the champion of the tri-series, Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the player of the match.

Dambulla. Teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi put the league stage debacle behind him and scored the fastest half-century in List A cricket with an explosive inning of 94 runs in 29 balls as India A defeated Sri Lanka A by 66 runs in the tri-series final on Sunday. 15-year-old Khabbu batsman from Samastipur, Bihar created a new record in List A cricket by completing his half-century in just 11 balls.

He broke the 21-year-old record of Kaushalya Weeraratne of Sri Lanka. Weeraratne scored a half-century in 12 balls in 2005. After scoring a huge score of 377 runs for nine wickets, India A bowled out Sri Lanka’s innings for 311 runs in 47.1 overs. Yash Thakur (three wickets for 45 runs), Vipraj Nigam (three wickets for 60 runs) and Anukul Roy (two wickets for 42 runs) bowled brilliantly for India A. Captain Tilak Verma (one wicket for 11 runs) and Ashok Sharma (one wicket for 75 runs) also got one success each.

India A, who came to bat first, seemed to be moving towards the 400-run mark on the strength of Suryavanshi’s aggressive batting, but Sri Lanka A made a brilliant comeback in the middle overs. Captain Tilak Verma took charge of the team by playing a composed innings of 67 runs in 90 balls. At the same time, Anukul Roy scored 39 runs in 15 balls and Vipraj Nigam scored 27 runs in 20 balls and scored quick runs in the last overs, due to which India A’s score crossed 375 runs.

Chasing a big target, Sri Lanka A needed fast starts and big partnerships, but the team failed to do so. Top-order batsmen Niroshan Dickwella (25), Avishka Fernando (three) and Nuwanidu Fernando (21) returned to the pavilion after reaching the score of 75 runs in the first 10 overs. For Sri Lanka, Sadira Samarawickrama (52) and captain Sahan Arachchige (38) added 53 runs for the fourth wicket, while Wanuj Sahan (62) and Vijayakanth Viakanth (39) made a partnership of 77 runs for the seventh wicket.

However, these efforts proved inadequate as compared to the target and were only helpful in reducing the margin of defeat. Suryavanshi, who had not been able to perform as expected in this series before, appeared aggressive from the beginning. He put pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers from the beginning and hit attractive shots all around the ground. The scores of his first 11 balls were 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 0, 6, 4, 4, 6 and 6 respectively. He completed his record half-century with the help of five fours and five sixes. He made the record in his name by hitting straight sixes on two consecutive balls of fast bowler Dulaj Samuditha.

This opening batsman showed a great blend of power and excellent timing. Initially he scored runs on the leg side against fast bowlers and later played attractive shots on the off side also. During this, his ability to send even good balls across the boundary line was once again seen.

The most attractive part of his innings were the sixes hit over extra cover. The three spectacular sixes hit in this area perfectly reflected his batting skills, balance and fearless style. Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya (39) made a partnership of 132 runs for the first wicket. He was on his way to score the fastest century in List A cricket, but spinner Sahan Arachige caught him at midoff, ending his innings. Arya was also out in the very next over and Sri Lanka A made a comeback in the match.

After this, experienced Ruturaj Gaikwad (40) and Tilak Verma added 84 runs for the third wicket, but the run pace slowed down a bit. Tilak also made a partnership of 63 runs with wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra (36) for the fourth wicket. In an attempt to score fast runs in the last overs, India A’s wickets kept falling but Vipraj Nigam and Anukul played useful innings and took the team to 377 runs. Anukul hit three out of four sixes in his innings in the last over against Kugathus Mathulan.