Following a thrilling contest against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla on Monday, June 15, India A's teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi found himself at the center of a massive controversy. The game that had see-sawed every over had ended in a super over, where Sri Lanka A prevailed.
Sri Lanka A captain, Sahan Arachchige, won the toss and chose to bowl first, a decision justified when India was reduced to 143/7. Ruturaj Gaikwad (37), Tilak Varma (23), and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (21) were the main contributors.
However, Suryansh Shedge (72 off 66) and Vipraj Nigam (51 off 49) stitched a crucial 104-run stand for the 7th wicket to lift India to 265 all out. Mohamed Shiraz and Vijaykanth Viyaskanth picked up three wickets each.
In reply, Sadeera Samarawickrama (93) anchored Sri Lanka A’s chase with support from Niroshan Dickwella (37) and Wanuja Sahan (25). Indian bowlers kept things tight throughout, and the match went down to the final ball, ending in a tie as Sri Lanka A’s tailenders failed to score the required 2 runs.
After much coaxing and arguing by India A captain Tilak Varma, the umpires decided to have a super over to find a definitive winner. Sri Lanka managed to score 15 runs, and in response, India could only make 9 runs and lost the game.
The most talked-about incident, though, was when Sooryavanshi was spotted pushing a Sri Lanka A player away. But new information regarding the incident has now come to light. Following the hosts' stunning victory in Dambulla, Vishen Halambage of Sri Lanka made the first taunt, throwing a mouthful at Sooryavanshi, according to a report on Cricbuzz.
“Match over…now you go home,” said Halambage, and this led to a scuffle between India’s Suryansh Shedge, and later, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi joined in by getting into a physical altercation with Halambage. The Sri Lanka A players then came to defuse the situation.
Players from Sri Lanka A and India A, following the altercation between Sooryavanshi and Halambage, finished the traditional post-match handshakes. There could potentially be some dire repercussions from the two players' violent brawl.
It is important to note that the ICC does not often choose the match officials for A-team series or decide disciplinary issues that arise from them. Therefore, any announcement of a sanction would be unusual.
Cricbuzz further reported that there were discussions in Sri Lanka. A dressing room about going to the India A camp and apologizing for their conduct. But whether they proceed or not is still up in the air. It must be acknowledged, nevertheless, that neither team's actions were necessary.
According to Cricbuzz, the Sri Lanka A camp didn't want a tie-breaker at that point. “There should never have been a Super Over in the first place,” an SLC official told Cricbuzz.
India A lost consecutive matches to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka A after defeating Sri Lanka A in the first game of the series.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
