Lucknow, Sep 18 (IANS) Dhruv Jurel notched up a brilliant unbeaten century as India ‘A’ continued to sail comfortably through their batting innings on Day 2 of the first unofficial Test against Australia ‘A’. The hosts closed the day’s play at 403/4 in 102 overs, still 129 runs adrift of the visitors’ first innings total but in good position to steer the game to a draw..

After yet another rain delay and a late start to the opening session, N. Jagadeesan and Sai Sudharsan continued from where they left off on Day 2, stitching a 49-run stand before Xavier Bartlett dismissed the former. However, Sudharsan, the Gujarat Titans batter, got to a fine half-century in the second session after Devdutt Padikkal joined him in the middle.

Australia ‘A’ all-rounder Cooper Connolly dismissed Sudharsan in the 59th over, but what hurt India the most was skipper Shreyas Iyer’s dismal outing. Expectations were at an all-time high as the Punjab Kings captain, who was unexpectedly given a cold shoulder by the national selectors for the recent Asia Cup, walked into the field.

However, Iyer fell for a cheap 13-ball eight as Corey Rocchiccioli got his first and only wicket of the day.

Middle-order batter Padikkal and wicketkeeper-batter Jurel did not let the two setbacks have an impact on the team’s innings as they joined hands to build the innings further. The latter got down to business from the word go and marched to a beautiful century in the third session.

The duo built on a massive 181-run partnership to end Day 3 on a high. Padikkal, batting at 86*, will look to get to the three-figure mark on Day 4 on Friday when India ‘A’ continue their innings.

Earlier on Day 2, Australia ‘A’ declared their innings after posting 532 runs. Sam Konstas and Josh Philippe hit centuries and led the way for the visitors before India ‘A’ took charge with the bat.

Brief scores:

Australia ‘A’ 532/6 decl. in 98 overs (Sam Konstas 109, Josh Philippe 123*, Campbell Kellaway 88, Cooper Connolly 70; Harsh Dubey 3-141, Gurnoor Brar 2-87), lead India ‘A’ 403/4 in 103 overs (Dhruv Jurel 113*, Devdutt Padikkal 86*, Narayan Jagadeesan 64, Sai Sudharsan 73; Xavier Bartlett 1-60, Liam Scott 1-31) by 129 runs.

— IANS

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