The scoreboard will say Sri Lanka A 265 for 9 tied with India A 265, before the hosts pinched the Super Over by eight runs. That hardly covers the chaos in Dambulla on Monday evening.
Kugathas Mathulan, just 19 and bowling with a low-slinging action that recalls Lasith Malinga, was handed 17 to defend in near-darkness. Three searing yorkers later, Suryansh Shedge and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had managed only nine. Sri Lanka A, unbeaten so far in this tri-series, roared; India A trudged off to face a virtual eliminator against Afghanistan A on Wednesday.
“I tried to block out everything and hit the hole,” Mathulan told host broadcaster ThePapare. “The light wasn’t great, but the plan was simple – yorker, yorker, yorker.”
The Super Over became necessary only after a prolonged argument over playing conditions. India A captain Tilak Varma insisted the tie be resolved; umpires Prageeth Rambukwella and Shantha Fonseka eventually agreed, but the ten-minute delay meant the final shoot-out took place in gloom no light-meter would normally permit.
Tempers frayed. As Sooryavanshi walked off after the last ball, he exchanged words with several Sri Lankans and appeared to shove Vishen Halambage. Skipper Sahan Arachchige and senior man Niroshan Dickwella quickly stepped in. Handshakes followed, though the glares lingered.
Key moments before the chaos
Sri Lanka A’s pursuit of 266 had been anchored by Sadeera Samarawickrama’s fluent 93 from 105 balls – all timing, little fuss. When Arshad Khan began the 50th over, the home side needed five with three wickets in hand. The left-armer produced a dot, then a perfect yorker that wrecked Samarawickrama’s stumps.
Singles off the third, fourth and fifth deliveries left two required from the final ball, Chamika Gunasekara on strike. Arshad fired a low full-toss at leg stump, Gunasekara missed, and keeper Prabhsimran Singh flicked the ball onto the stumps. India A appealed for leg-before, for obstruction, anything; the umpires ruled leg-bye, scores level.
Varma tried to rally his side. “We thought we had it twice,” he admitted afterwards. “But credit to them, they kept finding a way.”
Penalty runs prove costly
Earlier, India’s innings of 265 looked competitive enough. Shedge’s busy 72 and Vipraj Nigam’s 51 rescued them from 118 for 5, only for two separate five-run penalties to bite. Nigam, warned twice for sprinting straight down the protected area, did it again in the 34th over and once more three overs later. Ten runs lopped off the total before Sri Lanka had even lifted a bat.
ESPN commentator Roshan Abeysinghe – a neutral voice in these parts – felt the officials had little choice. “They were crystal-clear with the warnings. You can’t keep charging down the danger zone and expect mercy,” he said on air.
Nigam shrugged when asked about the lapses: “Heat of the moment. Won’t happen again.”
For Sri Lanka, seamer Kalana Perera struck early, while leg-spinner Vishan Viyaskanth’s 3 for 26 stifled the middle overs. India’s 45-run stand in the last five overs, driven by No. 10 Abhishek Sharma’s clean hitting, ensured a contest.
A match that had everything
Add in a mid-innings stoppage for a stray dog, three reviews overturned, and a near-collision between the square-leg umpire and Samarawickrama during a tight second-run, and it felt typical limited-overs cricket in the sub-continent: skilful, slightly scruffy, unforgettable.
Former Sri Lanka coach Piyal Wijetunge, watching from the press box, summed it up neatly: “Not perfect cricket, but perfect drama. And the kid – Mathulan – might have just announced himself.”
Numbers that mattered
• 10 – penalty runs conceded by India A for running on the pitch.
• 93 – Samarawickrama’s top score, his second successive-A-team ninety.
• 3 – yorkers nailed by Mathulan in the Super Over.
Where the result leaves the series
Sri Lanka A sit on eight points, effectively through to Saturday’s final. India A, beaten twice, have to defeat Afghanistan A to stay alive. They will also sweat on the fitness of left-arm quick Shiraz Ahmed, who left the field with a sore hamstring after taking 3 for 33.
Coach Sitanshu Kotak tried focusing on the positives. “We created enough chances. Tidy up the extras and the next game can swing our way.”
That next game, in Colombo, suddenly feels like a knockout – just without the need, everyone hopes, for another Super Over in the dark.
