Lucknow, Sep 25 (IANS) A collective bowling performance followed by a fluent 74 from K.L. Rahul kept India ‘A’ in the hunt for an improbable chase of 412 against Australia ‘A’ on the third day of the unofficial Test at BRSABV, Lucknow. The hosts closed the day at 169 for 2, needing 243 more runs with eight wickets in hand, as Sai Sudharsan (44 not out) and nightwatchman Manav Suthar held firm at stumps.

Rahul, opening the innings, set the tone with a confident half-century, adding 85 runs for the first wicket with N. Jagadeesan (36). The stand was broken when Todd Murphy trapped Jagadeesan, before later dismissing Devdutt Padikkal (5) after Rahul had retired hurt in the final session. Sudharsan, steady at the other end, looked set for his second fifty of the match.

Earlier, Australia ‘A’ resumed at 16 for 3 but slipped quickly to 17 for 4 before captain Nathan McSweeney and Josh Philippe fought back. The pair added 90 runs, with Philippe counterattacking on his way to a 48-ball 50.

Explaining his approach, Philippe said, “I like having that approach against spin. You know, especially now with the rough and the left-arm spinner coming around the wicket… I feel like sort of that hard sweeping – both reverse and normal – are really good options for me and shots I’m quite good at. So, yeah, [I was] just really trying to stick to my strengths.”

Suthar eventually dismissed Philippe, adding Murphy (12) later to complete figures of 3 for 50 in the innings and 8 for 157 in the match. Having picked Oliver Peake in the final over of day two, he emerged as India A’s standout bowler. Gurnoor Brar chipped in with the wickets of Jack Edwards (10) and Will Sutherland (0), while Mohammed Siraj and concussion substitute Yash Thakur picked two each as Australia A folded for 185.

Despite the collapse, McSweeney’s second strong knock of the game (top-scoring again after his 74 in the first innings) gave his side a sizeable lead.

As the final day beckons, Philippe underlined the task for his team: “We just sort of need that one breakthrough early tomorrow and yeah, hopefully we can get on a roll on and yeah, get three or four [wickets].”

Brief scores:

Australia ‘A’ 420 & 16183 all out in 46.5 overs (Nathan McSweeny 85, Josh Philippe 50; Gurnoor Brar 3-42, Manav Suthar 3-50) lead India A 194 & 169/2 in 41 overs (Sai Sudharsan 44 not out, KL Rahul 74; Todd Murphy 2-49) by 243 runs

–IANS

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