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Tri-series: Vaibhav’s fastest fifty in India A’s title win, Sri Lanka A lost by 66 runs in the final

By Samira Vishwas

Dambulla, June 21. Amid talks of reprimand and fine after a heated argument with Sri Lanka A players in a tense group match four days ago, Vaibhav Suryavanshi responded in a stormy manner with his bat here on Sunday. The result was that India A won the triangular series by defeating Sri Lanka A by 66 runs in the final.

Probably playing his last innings as an ‘uncapped’ player (one who has not played any international match till now), 15-year-old teenage sensation Vaibhav scored the fastest half-century (off 11 balls) in List-A cricket and took his explosive innings to 94 runs (eight sixes, 10 fours) off 29 balls.

India A raised a mountain of 377 runs

The result of the aggressive efforts of other batsmen including the half-centuries of Suryavanshi and captain Tilak Verma (67 runs, 90 balls, one six, four fours) was that the India A team made a mountain-like score of 377 runs for nine wickets on the first batting.

Hosts could reach 311 runs in front of Yash Thakur, Vipraj and Anukul

In reply, in front of Yash Thakur (3-45), Vipraj Nigam (3-60) and Anukul Roy (2-42), the host team could reach 311 runs in 47.1 overs despite the half-century efforts of Vanuja Sahan (62 runs, 69 balls, five fours) and Sadira Samarawickrama (52 runs, 44 balls, nine fours).

Anukul shone with the bat too

Interestingly, Anukul Roy, a resident of Samastipur, the same city of Vaibhav, also impressed him a lot. In the last moments, he scored 39 runs (four sixes, one four) in 15 balls and took the team beyond 375 and then also took two important wickets with his left-arm spin bowling. These included the wicket of set batsman Vijayakanth Vyaskanth (39 runs, 34 balls, five fours), who kept Sri Lanka A’s hopes alive with a 77-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Vanujja.

Half century partnership between Sadira and Sahan on the fourth wicket

If we look at Sri Lanka A’s reply in front of the difficult target, Yash Thakur dealt with both the openers – Avishka Fernando (three runs) and Niroshan Dickwella (25 runs, 17 balls, one six, four fours) in consecutive overs and then took his third victim in the form of Nuwanindu Fernando (21 runs, 21 balls, two sixes, one four) in the 10th over (3-75). When Sadira added 53 runs for the fourth wicket with captain Sahan Arachige (38 runs, 40 balls, one six, four fours), then Ashok Sharma broke this partnership by sending Sadira off.

score card

On the other hand, Vipraj curbed the aggression of Ravindu Fernando (19 runs, 10 balls, one six, three fours) while Sahan was returned by captain Tilak in the 26th over (6-177). The host team’s second half-century partnership came between Vanujja and Vijayakanth, who raised hopes by taking the score beyond 250. But Anukul broke this partnership and together with Nigam, the host innings was also closed before 3.25.

Suryavanshi broke Veeraratne’s 21 year old record

Before this, if we look at the innings of India A, Suryavanshi could score a total of 117 runs in four innings before the final. Suryavanshi made a good start with Priyansh Arya (39 runs, 29 balls, one six, six fours). He created a new record in List A cricket by completing his half-century in just 11 balls (4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 0, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6) with the help of five sixes and five fours. In this sequence, Vaibhav broke the 21 year old record of Kaushalya Weeraratne of Sri Lanka. Weeraratne scored a half-century in 12 balls in 2005.

Vaibhav and Priyansh added 132 runs for the first wicket

‘Player of the Match’ Vaibhav and Priyansh’s stormy century partnership of 132 runs on 53 balls ended in the ninth over, when Sahan Arachige returned Vaibhav and in the very next over, Priyansh was out on the ball of Dulaj Samudita. After this, with the strong partnership of 84 runs between Rituraj (40 runs, 41 balls, one six, two fours) and Tilak, the score reached 220 runs, while Tilak and wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra (36 runs, 39 balls, one six, three fours) scored 63 runs.

Two half-century partnerships between Rituraj-Tilak-Kushagra

However, when Kushagra returned, three wickets were taken within six runs. But Nishant (16 runs, 18 balls, one four), Vipraj Nigam (27 runs, 20 balls, one six, two fours) and Anukul gave the team an impenetrable target. For Sri Lanka A, Kugathas Mathulan, Vijayakanth and Vanuja Sahan shared six wickets among themselves.

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