Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s struggle to convert promising starts into a big score continued on Tuesday, as the young opener was dismissed for 38 off 28 balls during India A’s crucial tri-nation series clash against Afghanistan A in Dambulla.
The dismissal came in eventful fashion. Pacer Faridoon Dawoodzai bowled a short delivery, and Sooryavanshi went for the pull shot, only to top-edge it straight to the fielder stationed at point.
By the time he departed in the eighth over, India A had raced to 75 for one, with the youngster’s innings featuring some eye-catching strokeplay along the way, including a six and multiple boundaries through the sweeper cover region.
Familiar Pattern Continues for Young Opener
It continues a now familiar pattern for Sooryavanshi in this series, where he has repeatedly looked dangerous without going on to make it count.
His scores so far read: 38 off 28 against Afghanistan A, 21 off 14 against Sri Lanka A, 44 off 22 in the earlier meeting with Afghanistan A, and 14 off 12 against Sri Lanka A.
Captains Share Similar Views at the Toss
The match itself carries significant weight for India A’s qualification hopes.
Afghanistan A captain Imran Mir won the toss and opted to bowl first, a decision he explained by suggesting a target in the range of 260 to 270 would be defendable on the surface.
India A skipper Tilak Varma countered that he too would have chosen to bowl first given the choice, but added that his side was eyeing a total closer to 300, while confirming that Prabhsimran Singh and Ayush Badoni had been left out as part of three changes to the playing XI.
India A Under Pressure After Back-to-Back Setbacks
India A enter this fixture under genuine pressure after two damaging defeats. The first came against Afghanistan A despite posting 349 for nine, a match India lost by four runs under the DLS method following a rain interruption. The second was an agonising Super Over loss to Sri Lanka A after both sides finished level on 265, with the hosts claiming the extra point in the decider.
Qualification Race Tightens Ahead of Final League Matches
The points table currently has Sri Lanka A comfortably on top with four points from three matches, while India A and Afghanistan A are locked together on two points apiece, separated only by net run rate, India A on 0.032 and Afghanistan A on minus 1.392.
With just two league matches remaining before the competition concludes on June 19, when Sri Lanka A face Afghanistan A, this clash has effectively become a must-win contest for India A’s hopes of reaching the final.
Spotlight on Tilak Varma and India A’s Middle Order
Beyond Sooryavanshi, the spotlight will also fall on Tilak Varma and the rest of the batting order, along with India A’s bowling unit, all of whom will need to deliver if the side are to keep their qualification hopes alive heading into the business end of the tournament.
India A Playing XI
India A Playing XI – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Priyansh Arya, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma(c), Suryansh Shedge, Kumar Kushagra, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Anukul Roy, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur.
Afghanistan A Playing XI
Afghanistan A Playing XI – Imran Mir, Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Bahir Shah Mahbob, Farman Safi, Shams Ur Rahman, Ishaq Shirzad, Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan, Abdollah Ahmad Zai.
