India A 265 (Shedge 72, Nigam 51, Viyaskanth 3-26, Shiraz 3-33) tied with Sri Lanka A 265 for 9 (Samarawickrama 93, Badoni 2-45)
Super Over Sri Lanka A 16 beat India 9
The game went into the Super Over because of a belated call from the umpires due to confusion over the playing conditions. There was a delay of more than 10 minutes between the end of regulation time and the start of the Super Over after Tilak Varma, the India A captain, appealed to the umpires to play the Super Over.
By the time the players got back onto the field, the light had faded significantly. The Super Over was then played in murky light that wouldn’t have otherwise passed the normal light meter reading.
Niroshan Dickwella and Sahan Arachchige, the Sri Lanka captain, then separated the pair.
Why the game went into a Super Over
Arshad bowled a low full toss on the pads, that deflected to keeper Prabhsimran Singh, who relayed the throw to the batter’s end to effect a run out to leave the scores tied. Tilak and India contested the run, stating the batter had offered no stroke, but the umpire eventually signaled a leg bye to force a tie.
India penalised for running on the pitch
In a game of fine margins, India could have looked back at a number of moments that defined the game. The one that could rankle, though, is the 10 runs they conceded via penalties for repeatedly running on the protected area.
This meant Sri Lanka began their chase with 10 runs even before a ball was bowled.
Shedge props up India A
Each of his scalps came off deliveries that didn’t turn. Gaikwad was lbw after being beaten on the inside edge, Sindhu and Roy were caught behind off deliveries that skidded through. But from 143 for 7, Shedge batted sensibly alongside Nigam, the eighth-wicket pair put together 104 to give India a total to bowl at.
Shedge’s 66-ball 72 was the top score for India, to go alongside scores of 40 and 26 not out in his two previous outings. He was also quite lively with the ball, able to generate movement off the deck and bowl at a sprightly pace. His return catch of No. 6 Ahan Wickramasinghe left Sri Lanka reeling at 143 for 5. Surprisingly, he was soon taken off the attack and ended with figures of 3-0-13-1, with Tilak turning to the spinners.
Samarawickrama nearly pulls it off
For a second straight game, Samarawickrama was at the heart of Sri Lanka’s chase. He made a polished and unbeaten 60 not out to help overcome Afghanistan two days ago, but Monday proved a tad more challenging. Like Shedge, he had to combat a middle-order wobble and played himself in to get to a half-century off 74 balls. Along the way, he was dropped on 56 by Shedge in the 30th over when he chipped Nigam straight to extra cover. That lifeline could have cost India massively as Samarawickrama took the game right to the finish line, before chaos reigned supreme.
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo