Vibhu Suryavanshi’s much-anticipated return to competitive cricket for India A ended after a brief stay at the crease as the teenage sensation scored 14 runs in the opening match of the tri-nation A series against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla on Tuesday.The young batsman, who grabbed the attention after his impressive IPL 2026 campaign, came into the field with a lot of expectations but could not convert his start into a big score. Suryavanshi hit just three fours off his 12 balls and was caught by Sahan Arachige off Mohammad Shiraz. His dismissal left India A at 16-1 in the fourth over.India A won the toss and elected to bat first. Along with Suryavanshi, the wicket-keeper batsman Prabhasmaran Singh also departed early after scoring just two runs. However, Priyansh Arya and Rituraj Gaikwad Arya steadied the innings with a useful contribution before being run out for 32 runs. Gaekwad remained unbeaten on 46, while skipper Tilak Verma remained unbeaten on 18 as India A reached 118-3 after 28 overs.Vice-captain of Sri Lanka A before the match Niroshan Dikwila spoke about the excitement surrounding Suryavanshi and the challenge the youngster faces.“I am happy to be a wicket-keeper, because I don’t get many balls when he is batting. He is an exciting talent, and everyone likes the way BCCI is handling him at this age and giving him opportunities to perform in the ‘A’ team. He is not only an inspiration to young Sri Lankan cricketers, but he has played very well for young ‘Lee’ cricketers around the world. Cricket, but it is his It is a good opportunity for him to showcase his skills, explore and show that he is a very good short format player. And, you know, we are looking forward to this competition,” Dakwila told TOI.Asked about plans to contain the Indian batsman, Dakwila said: “We are not trying to stop him, but, we will try to implement our fundamentals first. We have some plans for him and the entire Indian batting line-up, but, on this day, how he is taking the bowlers, we will try to keep him down. I think the conditions are different. IPL They have flatter pitches, but here in Sri Lanka we have huge pitches.
