The ongoing Tri-Nation ODI Series between India A, Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A is currently underway in Sri Lanka, allowing young players to showcase their talent in the 50-over format. As part of the ongoing ODI-format series, India A and Afghanistan A are facing each other in the second match of the tournament in Dambulla. At the same time, it marks Afghanistan A’s first game of the series.

India A, who had already started their campaign with a win over Sri Lanka A in the opening match, once again put up a dominant batting display against Afghanistan A, posting a massive total of 349 runs.

After opting to bat first, the team built a strong innings with brilliant half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma and Prabhsimran Singh. Young batter Suryansh Shedge also once again impressed with the bat, contributing an important 40-run knock to help India A reach a commanding score. 

It is important to note that due to rain, the match was reduced to 49 overs per innings.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Explosive Start

India A got off to a flying start with Prabhsimran Singh and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opening the innings.

The duo provided a fiery beginning as the team crossed the 70-run mark within just seven overs.

Vaibhav looked in excellent touch and played an attacking knock of 44 runs off just 22 deliveries before getting dismissed. Interestingly, one of the most unusual highlights of his innings was that he smashed nine boundaries but did not hit a single six.

Gaikwad, Tilak And Prabhsimran Shine

The foundation of India A’s massive total was laid by Prabhsimran Singh, who played a stunning knock of 84 runs off 69 balls, smashing 14 boundaries during his innings.

Meanwhile, Priyansh Arya once again failed to register a big score for the second consecutive match. However, after scoring a century in the previous game, Ruturaj Gaikwad continued his good form and contributed a solid 66-run half-century. 

On the other hand, captain Tilak Varma also impressed with the bat, scoring 66 runs and registering his second consecutive fifty. Both Tilak and Ruturaj stitched together an important 78-run partnership in the middle overs.

Afghanistan Bowlers Fight Back

From Afghanistan’s side, Abdullah Ahmadzai was the standout performer with the ball as he picked up five wickets.

Farmanullah Saifi proved expensive but still managed to dismiss three batters.

While captain Imran Mir and Khalil Gurbaz did not allow the Indian batters to score freely, the rest of the bowling attack turned out to be quite expensive.

This is the second match of the tri-series, while Afghanistan are playing their first game of the tournament. In the opening match, India A defeated Sri Lanka A.