Ruturaj Gaikwad ton and late collapse hand India A opening honours
Author : Diksha Chaurasiya | Published On : 09 Jun 2026
The buzz was around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the back of his MVP exploits in the IPL. And the southpaw began with a crisp boundary off his first ball after India A opted to bat first. He pocketed two more boundaries but Sri Lanka's new ball bowlers extracted movement on a windy day. Sooryavanshi soon fell to an excellent catch from skipper Sahan Arachchige at mid-off before Prabhsimran Singh too departed cheaply, bringing Ruturaj Gaikwad and Priyansh Arya together at 16/2. Arya lofted a full ball off Mohamed Shiraz over extra cover for six to get off the mark and kept the scoreboard ticking along with regular boundaries as Gaikwad played second fiddle.
The partnership for the third wicket was worth 53 runs but a chaotic mix-up saw Arya run out, with both batters stranded at one end and Gaikwad just about beating him to the crease. Skipper Tilak Varma then joined Gaikwad, who motored along at a decent clip although the Sri Lankan spinners kept the scoring rate in check. Tilak paced his innings at a laborious tempo - he was on 18 off 52 at one stage but even consecutive boundaries off Arachchige didn't break the shackles completely. Gaikwad reached his half-century with a straight six and continued to tick along at a decent rate, although there was no evident sense of urgency despite India's very deep batting lineup.
Tilak too got to his fifty with a six off his 85th delivery, shortly after which Gaikwad brought up his 21st List A century. He slog-swept Wanuja Sahan to deep midwicket - reminiscent of multiple dismissals in that fashion in the IPL - before Tilak followed him to the hut. Ayush Badoni (24 off 18) chipped in with a useful cameo while a 19-run 49th over headlined by Suryansh Shedge slamming a six and two fours added the late thrust that India A were after. Shedge remained unbeaten on 26 off 14 as India A finished on 277/6.
Sri Lanka A began their chase in brisk fashion as Niroshan Dickwella scored a boundary off the very first ball. Consecutive boundaries against Anshul Kamboj in the third over were followed by Avishka Fernando doing the same off Arshad Khan. But Dickwella was the aggressor, his wristy flicks and fine glances standing out while an audacious scoop off Kamboj was the highlight. Kamboj continued to bear the brunt of the openers' onslaught as Sri Lanka A raced to 65 in 9 overs.
Shedge dried up an end with Anukul Roy keeping things tight himself. It was the off-spin of Ayush Badoni though that broke the 93-run stand as Fernando swept one to Sooryavanshi. Shortly after, Badoni struck again as Dickwella swept one off a top-edge to short fine leg. When Vipraj Nigam had Nuwanidu Fernando stumped off a googly, India A were truly back in the skyexchange cricket.
Arachchige transferred some pressure back onto the Indians with a six and a couple of fours, while Samarawickrama proved to be an able foil as the duo ate into the deficit. A rush of blood consumed Samarawickrama, however, as he holed out to long on while attempting a third boundary off Roy in the 34th over. Roy also had Ravindu Fernando out caught and bowled but Arachchige ticked along, becoming the third batter in the game to reach his fifty with a maximum while taking just 43 deliveries to get there.
Despite Chamika Karunaratne's painstaking 21-ball 9 and some tight overs, the target never seemed in doubt as long as Arachchige was in the middle. Wanuja Sahan brought the asking rate under a run-a-ball with a couple of smart boundaries - a reverse-sweep and a dab through the third man region - but India A stretched the game deep. Arachchige was bowled by an inch-perfect Kamboj yorker in the 48th over but Sri Lanka A remained in control and needed just 10 runs off the last two overs.
That's when all hell broke loose as Vijayakanth Viyaskanth was given out LBW, with Arshad busy trying to get to the ball instead of appealing. A moment of brainfade then saw Sahan call his partner for a run from the non-striker's end, even as the ball rolled just behind him. Gaikwad, positioned at short midwicket, swiftly ran in, picked up the ball and walked to the stumps to dislodge the bails, before Vipraj completed a diving catch at deep square leg a couple of deliveries later to seal an incredible win for India A.
Brief Scores: India A 277/6 in 50 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 101, Tilak Varma 60; Mohamed Shiraz 2-67, Wanuja Shahan 1-35) beat Sri Lanka A 269 all out in 48.5 overs (Sahan Arachchige 74, Niroshan Dickwella 47, Sadeera Samarawickrama 46; Arshad Khan 2-24, Ayush Badoni 2-46) by 8 runs.
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