Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s much-anticipated return to competitive cricket for India A ended in a brief stay at the crease as the teenage sensation managed 14 runs in the Tri-Nation A Series opener against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla on Tuesday.The young batter, who attracted widespread attention following his stellar IPL 2026 campaign, walked in with plenty of expectations but could not convert his start into a big score. Sooryavanshi struck only three fours during his 12-ball knock before being caught by Sahan Arachchige off the bowling of Mohamed Shiraz. His dismissal left India A at 16-1 in the fourth over.India A had opted to bat first after winning the toss. Alongside Sooryavanshi, wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh also departed early for just two runs. However, Priyansh Arya and Ruturaj Gaikwad steadied the innings with a useful partnership before Arya was run out for 32. Gaikwad remained unbeaten on 46, while captain Tilak Varma was unbeaten on 18 as India A reached 118-3 after 28 overs.Ahead of the match, Sri Lanka A vice-captain Niroshan Dickwella had spoken about the excitement surrounding Sooryavanshi and the challenge of facing the youngster.“I’m glad to be a wicketkeeper, because I won’t be getting many of the balls when he is batting. He’s an exciting talent, and everyone loves the way the BCCI is handling him at this age and giving him opportunities in the ‘A’ team to perform. He’s not only a motivation for young Sri Lankan cricketers, but for youngsters all over the world. He hasn’t played a lot of List ‘A’ cricket, but this is a good opportunity for him to showcase his talent, explore, and show that he’s a very good short-format player. And, you know, we’re looking forward to this contest,” Dickwella told TOI.When asked about plans to contain the Indian batter, Dickwella said: “We’re not trying to stop him, but, we’ll try to execute our basics first. We’ve some plans for him and for the whole Indian batting line-up. But, on that day, on the merit of how he is going to take the bowlers on, we will try and keep him down. The conditions here are different… I think in the IPL they have flatter pitches, but here in Sri Lanka we have huge grounds.”
