Dambulla, June 22 (IANS) India A captain Tilak Varma credited his team’s resilience and collective character after they defeated Sri Lanka A by 66 runs to lift the tri-series title at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday.

Powered by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive 94 off just 29 deliveries and backed by disciplined bowling, the Indian side capped their campaign with a commanding victory, prompting the skipper to reflect on how the side responded to setbacks and executed its plans throughout the tournament.

“Everyone has shown the real character in this tournament, especially when we lost against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka back-to-back games. And from there, winning with a large margin and showing that attitude on the field was tremendous,” Tilak said post match.

The triumph completed a remarkable turnaround for the Men in Blue, who had entered the knockout stage after recovering from successive defeats earlier in the competition. In the final, they posted a daunting 377/9 before restricting the hosts to 311, with the bowlers producing timely breakthroughs despite a few resistance partnerships from Sri Lanka A.

Tilak attributed the team’s success to the squad’s experience and the clarity with which they approached every phase of an innings.

“Definitely, everyone has played domestic games in their own state. So everyone has the experience, and it’s just a matter of a moment and planning just before coming to the game. If you see the way we play in the powerplay and in between 10 to 40, and again we’ll just accelerate and again we go on. Because we know we have got good big hitters in the death, and you know how Vaibhav and Arya have opened the game. So we know that in between we want that partnership, and that has been in our way,” he added.

That blueprint was evident in the final. Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ripped apart the Sri Lankan attack with a record-breaking 94, including the fastest List A fifty in just 11 balls, while Priyansh Arya gave him ideal support during their 132-run opening stand.

After the blazing start, Tilak himself anchored the innings with a measured 67, stitching together key partnerships with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kumar Kushagra before the lower order added valuable runs to push India A to a formidable total.

Although pleased with the title-winning campaign, the captain admitted there was one area that still left room for improvement despite ending on the winning side.

“Honestly, if you say, I think it was really up on the mark, but slightly disappointing with the bowling. But if you see, we have got very good bowling attack, but it happens in one-off series, but you know how talented everyone is. So we weren’t up on the mark in the bowling, but end of the day, the results matters. So when we are in the winning side, then it’s good, but at the same point, there is a lot of learning in the bowling as well,” the skipper said.

Even so, India A’s bowlers delivered when it mattered most in the summit clash. Yash Thakur and Vipraj Nigam claimed three wickets apiece, while Anukul Roy picked up two as Sri Lanka A, despite half-centuries from Sadeera Samarawickrama and Vanuja Sahan, fell well short of the imposing target.

–IANS

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