Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Tilak Varma, and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the biggest names in India A’s squad for the tri-series against Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A in Dambulla. But it’s Suryansh Shedge who’s outshone them all. Tilak and Gaikwad scored more runs. That’s expected since they bat in the top five while Shedge has come out at number seven in all three matches.
Finisher with bowling ability
The batting all-rounder has finished the innings and rescued the team, depending on the situation. In the opening match against Sri Lanka A on June 9, the 23-year-old struck 26 off 14. India A closed the game out in the penultimate over of the match, winning by 8 runs. His cameo wasn’t all he did; Shedge bowled 8 overs for 41 runs as well.
In the second game against Afghanistan A on June 11, he scored 40 off 27. That game didn’t go India A’s way, with rain playing spoilsport. But even in that game, Shedge delivered 2 overs. He isn’t a frontline bowler but is a more than useful option as the 6th bowler. 10 overs for 60 runs is the best you can expect from him, and he delivered.
Anchors India A with maiden List A fifty
However, his best moment of the tri-series came on June 15 against Sri Lanka A. India A were 123/5 when Shedge walked in. Gaikwad was the best batter yet, 37 off 42. No one got going. Ayush Badoni and Anukul Roy departed soon after, without troubling the scorers, and 17.5 overs remained with just 4 wickets in hand.
Shedge, who had no List A half-century to his name, stood up. Vipraj Nigam supported him. They just rotated the strike for the next couple of overs, and then Shedge went boom, smashing 17 runs off Sahan Arachchige’s 37th over. They went on building, and the Mumbaiker reached his maiden List A fifty in just 47 balls.
The 200-run mark had already been breached, and 250 looked like a real possibility. All because of Shedge and Vijpraj. The latter found more boundaries and reached his maiden List A half-century in 47 balls as well. From 143/7, they dragged India A to 265. Together, they scored 104 runs in 90 balls.
Vipraj deserves credit, but it’s Shedge who’s impressed more. In the first two games, he started hitting from the get-go. When the need was to anchor, the 23-year-old managed that as well. The limelight was on Tilak, Gaikwad, and Sooryavanshi especially, but Shedge has been the one who’s impressed the most with his explosive and mature batting and the ability to deliver handy overs.
Suryansh Shedge stats in India A tri-series
| Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 50s | Overs Bowled | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 138 | 72 | 69.00 | 128.97 | 1 | 10 | 6 |
