KL Rahul’s fluent 74 and Sai Sudharsan’s unbeaten 44 kept India A in contention at the end of day three of their second four-day unofficial Test against Australia A in Lucknow.Chasing a stiff target of 412, India closed on 169 for 2, still needing 243 runs. Sudharsan and Manav Suthar were unbeaten at stumps.Earlier, Australia A resumed their second innings at 16 for 3. Mohammed Siraj struck with the new ball, removing Cooper Connolly cheaply to reduce the visitors to 17 for 4. Nathan McSweeney and Josh Philippe steadied the innings with a 90-run stand for the fifth wicket. Philippe played a brisk 50 off 48 deliveries, while McSweeney remained solid.India’s bowlers kept striking at regular intervals though, with Gurnoor Singh Brar claiming 3 for 42 and left-arm spinner Manav Suthar adding 3 for 50. Australia were eventually bowled out for 185, with McSweeney scoring a determined 85 off 149 balls. That effort left India with a daunting fourth-innings chase of 412.India’s reply began positively through openers Narayan Jagadeesan and Rahul, who added 85 for the first wicket. Jagadeesan contributed 36 before falling, but Rahul kept the scoreboard moving. He struck nine boundaries in his 92-ball stay before retiring hurt on 74.Sudarshan then took over responsibility, guiding India past 150 with a composed knock. Devdutt Padikkal’s brief stay ended on 5, but Sudarshan and Suthar ensured there were no further setbacks before close.For Australia, off-spinner Todd Murphy picked up two wickets to halt India’s progress.
Poll
Who do you think will win the 2nd Test match between India A and Australia A?
With a day remaining, the match is finely balanced. India require another 243 runs while Australia need eight wickets to secure victory.Brief scores:Australia A 420 & 185 (McSweeney 85*, Philippe 50; Brar 3/42, Suthar 3/50)India A 194 & 169/2 (Rahul 74, Sudharsan 44*; Murphy 2/49)
