A spectacular ten-wicket match haul by Gurnoor Brar propelled India A to a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka A on the final day of the second unofficial Test in Galle. This decisive win secured a 1-0 series triumph for the visitors, following a draw in the opening match.
India A crush Sri Lanka A to seal series 1-0
India A briefly batted on the fourth morning, adding just two runs to their overnight total before declaring at 541/8 after Yash Thakur was dismissed. Saransh Jain was left stranded on 70*, while captain Ruturaj Gaikwad did not resume his innings after retiring hurt on Day 2. Armed with a commanding 177-run first-innings lead, India A's pacers immediately dismantled the hosts' top order. Gurnoor struck twice in his opening three overs to remove Sohan de Livera and Nuwanidu Fernando, while Auqib Nabi dismissed Pawantha Weerasinghe, leaving Sri Lanka A reeling at a precarious 9/3 within the first four overs.
Gurnoor Brar's six-fer breaks Lankan's back
Facing a massive deficit, Ashen Bandara launched a spirited counter-attack, taking three consecutive boundaries off Gurnoor. Although first-innings centurion Sahan Arachchige fell to Yash Thakur's very first delivery, Bandara refused to back down, racing to a 47-ball half-century. He continued his aggressive approach by hitting legspinner Zeeshan Ansari for two sixes, guiding Sri Lanka A to 115/4 by the Lunch break.
However, Gurnoor returned after the interval to derail the hosts' resistance. He quickly dismissed both Anjala Bandara and the dangerous Ashen Bandara for a well-played 87. Despite brief, brisk contributions from Keshara Nuwantha (26) and Dilum Sudeera (21) that helped wipe out the deficit, wickets tumbled consistently, with spinner Saransh Jain claiming two scalps. Fittingly, Gurnoor wrapped up the innings, removing Sudeera for his five-wicket haul before clean-bowling Dulaj Samuditha to finish with stellar second-innings figures of 6 for 51 and match figures of 10 for 145, setting up a trivial run-chase for the visitors.
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Following the Tea break, India A made quick work of their modest 33-run target, needing just 5.2 overs to complete the victory. Sai Sudharsan put the finishing touches on a spectacular individual series by smashing a brisk, unbeaten 25 off 22 deliveries, fittingly hitting the winning boundary to seal the match. At the other end, Vidarbha's Aman Mokhade remained at the crease on 11 not out to help secure the 10-wicket win.
This commanding performance put the exclamation point on a highly successful tour for India A. Before clinching this unofficial Test series, the visitors had already tasted silverware by winning the limited-overs tri-series, which featured both the host nation and Afghanistan A.