India A defeated Sri Lanka A in the tri nation A series opener on Tuesday, June 9 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla. The Tilak Varma-led side secured the win by just eight runs while defending 278 runs in the second innings.
Ruturaj Gaikwad's magnificent hundred
India A skipper Tilak Varma won the toss and opted to bat first against Sri Lanka A. However, the decision seemed to backfire as India A endured a batting collapse in the first innings. The opening duo of Prabhsimran Singh and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got dismissed on cheap scores of 2 off 11 and 14 off 12 respectively.
Coming to bat at No. 3, Priyansh Arya steadied the innings with his 32 off 32 balls before getting run-out because of lack of communication with vice-captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. However, Ruturaj played a superb knock of 101 runs off 114 deliveries before getting out off Wanuja Sahan's bowling.
With valiant effort of Tilak Varma, who scored 60 off 97 and cameos from Ayush Badoni (24 off 18) and Suryansh Shedge (26 off 14) led India A to post 277/6 at the end of 50 overs.
Heroic bowling effort from India A
In response, Sri Lanka got off to a solid start. The opening duo of Niroshan Dickwella and Avishka Fernando gave Sri Lanka A an upper hand with their 47 off 45 and 45 off 59 respectively. Coming to bat at No.4, Sadeera Samarawickrama also smashed a solid 46 runs off 51 before losing his wicket off Anukul Roy. However, Sahan Arachchige scared the Indian team with his fabulous 74 off 72, hitting six boundaries and two sixes, before getting out on Anshul Kamboj's classic yorker.
In the last over, Arshad Khan clinched two key wickets and Ruturaj Gaikwad produced a run-out to remove Wanuja Sahan to seal the thriller game by just eight runs.