Northampton : India A find themselves in a strong position at the end of Day 3 in the second unofficial Test against England Lions in Northampton, leading by 184 runs with a day to go.
After bowling out the Lions for 327, with Khaleel Ahmed leading the charge with figures of 4/70, India A reached 163/4 in their second innings by stumps, thanks to skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran’s 80 and a fluent 51 from KL Rahul, who continued his rich vein of form after a century in the first innings.
The second innings didn’t start well for India A as they lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for just 5, but the experienced duo of Rahul and Easwaran stitched a crucial 88-run partnership to steady the innings. Rahul looked in fine touch, smashing nine boundaries in his 64-ball 51.
Karun Nair briefly supported Easwaran with a quick 15 that included three boundaries before being dismissed by Chris Woakes, who also removed Easwaran for 80 (92), lacing with ten boundaries in what turned out to be a key breakthrough for the Lions.
Wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel (6) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1) will resume the innings on the final day, with India A in a commanding position.
Earlier, England Lions were bowled out for 327, with Emilio Gay top-scoring with 71. Apart from Khaleel’s 4/70, Anshul Kamboj and Tushar Deshpande picked up two wickets each to restrict the hosts’ lead.
With just one day remaining, India A will look to push for a result and cap off a dominant performance.
Brief scores: India A 348 & 163/4 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 80, KL Rahul 51; Chris Woakes 2/31) vs England Lions 327 (Emilio Gay 71, Tom Haines 54; Khaleel Ahmed 4/70).
