New Delhi: India A opened their tri-series campaign with a thrilling eight-run win over Sri Lanka A in Dambulla on Tuesday, thanks to a dramatic turnaround in the final overs.The visitors were heading for defeat when Sri Lanka A captain Sahan Arachige played a brilliant innings of 74 runs off 72 balls to put his team in complete control in the chase of 278 runs. Sri Lanka A take control after Arachige masterclassChasing 278, Sri Lanka A got off to a strong start through Nirushan Dakwila (47) and Avishka Fernando (45), who added 93 runs for the opening wicket.Although Ayush Baduni removed both the openers, Arachige kept Sri Lanka A going with a composed innings. He received support from the middle order and later Vinuja Sahan as the hosts edged closer to the target.At one stage, Sri Lanka A needed just 22 runs from the last four overs with four wickets to spare and looked to have a foot over the finish line.Kamboj’s yorker changes the game.The turning point came in the 48th over.With Sri Lanka needing 16 off 16 balls, Anshul Kamboj delivered an excellent yorker to bowl the well-set Arachige for 74. The wicket gave India A the much-needed opening and suddenly the pressure was back on the Sri Lankan batsmen.Kamboj’s success injected fresh confidence into the Indian camp and eased a tension.Arshad KhanK’s final over heroicsArshad Khan then took charge in the death overs and produced the match-winning spell.Sri Lanka A needed just 10 runs from the last two overs and had three wickets to spare. However, Arshad struck twice in quick succession in the 49th over. He lbw Vijayakanth Vyaskanth before a quick run-out. Rituraj Gaikwad Removed Vinuja Sahan, who had threatened to take the game away from India.The wickets rattled Sri Lanka A and exposed the tail.Arshad then came back in the last over and took three wickets as Sri Lanka A lost their last four wickets in just 10 balls to give India A an unlikely victory.Gaikwad’s century propelled India A’s inningsEarlier, India A got off to a poor start scoring 277 for six.A lot of attention was focused on teenage sensation Vibhu Suryavanshi, but his List A debut for India A ended with 14 innings. Prabhasmaran Singh also got out cheaply as India slipped to 16 for two.Vice-captain Rituraj Gaikwad steadied the innings with a brilliant 101 off 114 balls, his 21st List A century. Along with captain Tilak Verma (60), he put on a crucial partnership of 150 runs for the fourth wicket.The pair batted patiently in tough conditions before picking up momentum later in the innings.Baduni and shedage provide the final touch.After Gaikwad and Tilak departed, Ayush Baduni (24 off 18) and Suresh Shidge (26 not out on 14) added valuable runs late on.His blistering 46-run stand helped India A cross the 270-run mark, which eventually proved to be enough.India A will next face Afghanistan A on June 11 as they look to secure a dramatic opening victory in the tri-series.
