IND A vs SL A: Ruturaj Gaikwad proves selectors wrong as India win thriller in Dambulla

Sri Lanka needed 17 runs in the last 3 overs. They had 4 goals in hand. The 30-year-old Sahan Arachchige batted for 74 off just 71 balls against a young Indian pace attack who was yet to make his ODI debut.

Seventeen runs off the last 18 balls with one set bat in the crease is every team’s dream. Batting against two pacers who had no impact in the opening spells of the innings was exactly the situation hosts Sri Lanka wanted in the opening game of the tri-series.

And yet, somehow India pulled the game back in their favour, just on the sheer will and experience that perhaps the Indian Premier League has given these two pacers in the last few months.

Sri Lanka A lost their heads in the final 11 balls of the contest and ended up throwing away a relatively simple chase. Absolute harakiri in the last few deliveries saw them collapse from 261/6 to 269 in the chase of 278.

Sri Lanka’s downfall was started by none other than Anshul Kamboj, who made a habit of bowling around the wicket of yorkers during the IPL. Bowling to set-piece Sahan Arachchige, Kamboj didn’t have to make an angle around the wicket to the left-hander. Instead, he threw it across the wicket to break the stumps.

So at 47.2, Sri Lanka A were 262/7, still needing 16 from 16 balls. Kamboj conceded a total of 7 runs in this over, reducing the lead to 10 off 12 balls, with 3 wickets still in hand. It’s not a cakewalk, but definitely a favorable equation for the hosts.

With Kamboj out, Indian skipper Tilak Varma turned to the only other specialist fast bowler he had, Arshad Khan.

Arshad came to bowl after figures of 4-0-23-0 and pinged a length ball around the wicket against V Viyaskanth. Arshad hit the batter on the stump, maybe slightly on the higher side, but the umpire was convinced enough to call it.

Equation now at 9 runs in 10 balls with 2 wickets in hand.

Arshad’s next delivery was chipped by pacer Mohammed Shiraz straight back to the bowler. Arshad missed the ball which then rolled to Ruturaj Gaikwad at mid off. Gaikwad picked up the ball and raced towards the non-striker’s end when he saw Wanuja Sahan come out of his crease hoping to run one.

The incident resulted in a suicidal attack for Sri Lanka, where they lost batsman Wanuj Sahan for 23 off 16 balls, essentially wiping out all hope for the side.

The equation has now reduced to 9 runs off 9 balls with a single last wicket in hand.

And from this point on, only one outcome was possible. Arshad Khan sealed the result two deliveries later. Mohamed Shiraz tried his luck one last time, hitting the ball hard in the deep but Vipraj Nigam completed a comfortable catch to seal the match for India.

Heavy favorites to win the match in the 47th over, Sri Lanka lost by 8 runs with 7 balls to spare.

INDIA MADE TO WORK HARD BY SRI LANKA

But before the eleven-ball frenzy, it was a painful hour for India fans who might have thought they were dying a slow death against a strong Sri Lankan side. With the score on 277, courtesy of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s century, India failed to put any pressure on Sri Lanka.

Openers Aishka Fernando and Niroshan Dickwella, both experienced batsmen on the international stage, added 93 runs for the first wicket partnership. The duo punished Arshad Khan and Anshul Kamboj in their opening spells, with timely boundaries in the opening over.

Seeing that the openers were dictating the game, Tilak Varma was forced to throw the last toss of the dice and bring Ayush Badoni outside off spin despite the windy conditions.

And lo and behold, Badoni struck twice in back-to-back overs, handing India the wickets of both openers and helping the visitors get back into the game.

However, India failed to capitalize on their momentum, leaving batsmen Sadeer Samarawickram (46 off 51) and Sahan Arachchige (74 off 72) to play brisk innings. These partnerships helped Sri Lanka dictate the game even though Indian spinners Anukul Roy (2/49) and Ayush Badoni (2/46) bowled well in their full 10 overs.

While batsmen like Chamika Karunaratne (9 off 21) and Ravindu Fernando (1 off 5) struggled, Arachchige’s innings kept Sri Lanka afloat going into the final 5 overs.

Sri Lanka were almost in a winning position but somehow managed to give it away and Tilak Varma’s team got a breather on Tuesday.

For this, a little credit must also go to the two batsmen, Ruturaji Gaikwad and Suryansh Shedge, who helped India put up a decent total in difficult conditions today.

RUTURAJ GAIKWAD STARS WITH NEPAL

Ignored in India’s ODI squad against Afghanistan, Ruturaj Gaikwad proved the selectors wrong with a quality hundred in India A’s first match. After the dismissal of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh, Ruturaj was forced to remain patient and build the Indian innings while others struggled around him.

Initially, India’s innings got off to a disastrous start after Prabhsimran Singh was bowled by Chamika in the 4th over. Vaibhav, despite starting well with 3 fours, ended up being caught at mid-on which spelled the end of both the openers in the first 5 overs.

Ruturaj held the innings with Priyansh Arya (32 off 32) to stabilize India’s innings in the first over. After dismissing Priyansh in the 13th over, Ruturaj combined with the struggling Tilak Varma (60 off 97) to get India out of trouble.

While the run scoring was slow, mostly due to the slow and spinning pitch in Dambulla, Ruturaj made sure that he was not drawn into an ultra-defensive mode like Tilak, who completed his fifty only in the 41st over.

Gaikwad looked most comfortable with the bat on Tuesday, hitting some brilliant knocks on the day and finishing with 101 runs off 114 balls.

After Gaikwad’s dismissal, young Suryansh Shedge, who has impressed for Punjab Kings this season, took matters into his own hands and hit 26 off 14 balls to take India past 250. Suryansh’s innings and Ayush Badoni’s 24 off 18 were worth their weight in gold as India found enough runs to defend against on Tuesday.

After winning a tough game, India will take a day’s rest and face Afghanistan A in their next match.The match is scheduled to be played at the same venue on June 11.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

09 Jun 2026 19:48 IST