Dambulla- India A held their nerves to trump Sri Lanka A by 8 runs in the first ODI in the Tri-nation series between India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Ruturaj on the charge
Lead by vice captain Ruturaj’s scintillating century, India A posted a total of 277/6 after their innings. Wonder boy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dismissed for cheap by Mohamed Shiraz, and fellow opener Prabhsimran Singh fell to a bouncer by Samarawickrama. Priyansh Arya at 3 steadied the innings with Ruturaj, before a brainfade by the former made him run the exact way his partner did, getting run out on 32.
Skipper Tilak Verma and Ruturaj then joined hands to steady the ship, with Ruturaj being the aggressor and Tilak being the anchor. Tilak ended up with 60 (97), with his strike rate under the scanner. Cameos by Badoni (24 off 18) and Shedge (26* off 14) lead the team to a competitive total.
Sri Lanka A‘s quick start
Fernando and Dickwella started quick, with a first wicket partnership of 93. They took pacer Anshul Kamboj for 40 runs off of his 5 overs. India A kept chipping in with timely wickets, with Badoni, Vipraj, Anukul and Arshad all claiming 2 wickets each.
With 59 needed off the last 10 and with 5 wickets in hand, Sri Lanka were still in the driver’s seat but with some smart bowling by Vipraj, Shedge and Arshad, Sri Lanka were all out for 269.
Brief Scores
India A – Ruturaj 101(114), Tilak 60(97), Priyansh 32(32), Shedge 26(18),
Shiraz 9-0-67-2
Sri Lanka A – Arachchinge 74(72), Dickwella 47(45)
Arshad Khan 4.5-0-24-2, Aysuh Badoni 10-0-46-2
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