Lost Game and Grace: Tilak and Sooryavanshi lead ugly Super Over meltdown

Brief Scores: India A (265-all out) draw with Sri Lanka A (265/9) in Dambulla on Monday.

In Super Over: Sri Lanka A (16-0) beat India (9-0)

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. In the development furnace of the A-series, results are secondary to cultivating temperament, yet India A managed to lose both the cricket match and the collective composure at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Monday. A pulsating 100-run draw over Sri Lanka A dissolved into a messy Super Over defeat, framed by a series of tactical errors and an ugly, sullen post-match meltdown that did the jersey no credit.

Highlights: India A vs Sri Lanka A

At the end of the Super Over, a 15-year wonder Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lost his coolwho became involved in a heated, aggressive confrontation with a Sri Lankan player. In very naughty scenes on the ‘A’ tour, Sooryavanshi was seen pushing and shoving his opponent while heated words were exchanged. The physical altercation quickly escalated, prompting teammate Suryansh Shedge to physically step in and drag the teenager away, while Sri Lankan goalkeeper Niroshan Dickwella rushed to contain his own players before the situation turned into an all-out flare-up.

It was an ugly episode that capped an evening of escalating toxicity, initiated by captain Tilak Varma, who led by example by organizing a running fight with the officials from the moment the main match ended. For a series expressly designed to test India’s emerging depth under pressure, the final hour offered a damning indictment of their tactical clarity.

India A are now in danger of missing out on the final. They have now lost back-to-back matches in the tournament and their upcoming match against Afghanistan A on June 17 is a must-win contest.

SAME TEAM, SAME BLUN

Chasing a dismal 17 runs for victory in near-pitch darkness, India A’s management committed a catastrophic tactical error that echoed the spirit of their recent past. For the second time in as many years, the team completely mismanaged a Super Over involving Sooryavanshi. In the Rising Stars Asia Cup final against Bangladesh A, India inexplicably retained the young opener – then the tournament’s top run-getter – resulting in a historic Super Over with zero mileage.

As if the lesson remained unlearned, India repeated the mistake. Facing Kugathas Mathulan, a cardio man armed with a Lasith Malinga-esque ultra-sling action, India sent Suryansh Shedge to bat in place of Sooryavanshi, who cleared boundaries. Shedge completely failed to register Mathulan’s accurate yorkers, consuming three rare deliveries for just three runs.

By the time Sooryavanshi finally got on strike, India needed an almost impossible 14 from three balls. He bowled a yorker for two and bowled another on the Sri Lankan misfield boundary, but with eight needed off the last ball, the match was dead. Mathulan sealed the victory with a final, unplayable yorker that roared with joy as his teammates harassed him – a celebration that immediately triggered Sooryavanshi’s physical retaliation.

HOW THE FUSE BLOWN

The fuse for this explosive surface was ignited in the late 1950s. Anchored by a commanding 113-ball 93 from Sadeera Samarawickram, Sri Lanka A’s chase came down to the last delivery. Needing two runs to win off Arshad Khan, Chamika Gunasekara was hit on the pad without offering a shot. The batsmen parted ways and with keeper Prabhsimran Singh unable to cleanly clear a diving flight to his right, they attempted suicide. Gunasekara was comfortably run out at the keeper’s end, but the first run stalled and the result was a tie.

Varma and the Indian fielders swarmed the umpires and argued furiously that, as Gunasekara had not offered a shot, there was no legal intervention. The umpires certified the run, leaving the tourists to stew as the match entered an overlapping crisis of fading light and frayed tempers. After a long, animated discussion around 18:00 local time, the Super Over was approved.

Even after that, the drama escalated. Sri Lanka raced to 14 from five balls before Khan bowled a high full toss. The umpires didn’t call it immediately, prompting the Indian players to walk off the field believing the over was complete. When the third umpire confirmed that it was not a waist ball, a visibly heated Varma engaged in another lengthy argument with the officials. Sooryavanshi eventually intervened and urged his captain to continue playing before Sri Lanka finished on 16.

REMOVAL OF THE DUCT

Long before the late-night rage, India A’s actual innings was a tale of self-inflicted injury followed by a dramatic rescue. Sent into bat, the visitors showed a recurring lack of application against a disciplined Sri Lankan attack. Sri Lanka captain Sahan Arachchige introduced himself in the fourth match as he looked to exploit Sooryavanshi’s known vulnerability against the spin of the ball. This gambit worked instantly; Sooryavanshi succumbs to the leading edge and departs cheaply.

When Ruturaj Gaikwad – who was given a reprieve in the 9th over at first slip – failed to capitalize on his life and fell to Vijaykanth Viyaskanth’s (3 for 26) excellent leg-turn, India’s middle-order capitulated. Between the 20th and 25th overs, a brutal spin choke destroyed the innings as India lost three wickets for just 14 runs and collapsed from a steady 110 for 3 to a dangerous 125 for 6. Threatening utter humiliation, a score of 170 looked optimistic.

It took a heroic, 100-run partnership between Suryansh Shedge and Vipraj Nigam to give India a fighting chance. Initially starved of timing, Shedge clawed his way through a slim ten-over patch before launching a spectacular counter-attack in the 38th over, plundering 17 runs off Arachchige’s final over. Aided by baffling tactical decisions by the Sri Lankan skipper, who inexplicably held back his frontline pacers and fed the batsmen a part-time diet, a furious last ten overs pushed India to a highly competitive 265.

Notably, in a telling commentary on modern cricket broadcasting, neither Varma nor Arachchige were asked about the post-match antics during the handover ceremony. The broadcasters looked away, but the match referee is unlikely to be so accommodating.

India A will rue their inability to defend 265, but more urgently the team management needs to address a culture where tactical oversight is coupled with a total failure of discipline.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

15 Jun 2026 20:11 IST