India's young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashed a flurry of boundaries in his second appearance for India A after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 high. On June 11, in the second tri-series game against Afghanistan A, Sooryavanshi hit nine fours in his 22-ball 44. He missed his maiden fifty for India A as he was dismissed by Afghan pacer Abdullah Ahmadzai who has placed nine T20Is.
Afghanistan A skipper Imran Mir won the toss and opted to bowl first in Dambulla. Sooryavanshi did not take much time to get into the groove. He hit two boundaries off the two balls he faced against Mohammad Ibrahim. He used the fielding restrictions well and found gaps with ease. Boundaries were flowing off Sooryavanshi and his batting partner Prabhsimran Singh's bat with India 74 for no loss after seven overs. On the first ball of the eighth over, the 15-year-old looked to guide the ball on the back foot but all he could manage was an edge to the wicketkeeper Ishaq Rahimi.
Ahmadzai had bowled a short delivery from round the wicket, angling into the batter. He was cramped for room and it was a soft dismissal. Soon after Priyansh Arya fell to Ahmadzai for a single-digit score. In the 10th over, he went for the cut shot but found the point fielder Bahir Shah.
Sooryavanshi searches for big knock
After selection in the T20I squad owing to a record-breaking, award-sweeping IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals (RR). In the tri-series opener, he fell to Sri Lanka’s Mohamed Shiraz for a 12-ball 14. The young southpaw was caught at mid-off by Sahan Arachchige.
Playing XIs for IND A vs AFG A
India A: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma(c), Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Arshad Khan, Vipraj Nigam, Anukul Roy, Anshul Kamboj
Afghanistan A: Imran Mir(c), Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Bahir Shah, Ishaq Rahimi(wk), Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Mohammad Ibrahim, Farmanullah Safi