IND A vs SL A: India A has further strengthened its grip on the first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka A (IND A vs SL A). On the third day in Galle, the Indian team secured a lead of 170 runs and reached 48/0 by stumps. Devdutt Padikkal and Ayush Pandey remained unbeaten. Opener Sai Sudharsan, who had scored a century in the first innings, retired hurt after scoring just 7 runs due to an injury. Sri Lanka A’s first innings folded for 330 runs, largely due to a four-wicket haul by fast bowler Auqib Nabi Dar. Earlier, India had declared their innings at 452/6.
Auqib Nabi dismissed the lower-order batters
Sri Lanka A resumed play on the third day at 113/2. Nuwanidu Fernando and Ashen Bandara shared a 105-run partnership for the third wicket. Fernando was dismissed for 84 by Yash Thakur. Subsequently, captain Sahan Arachchige and Ashen Bandara steadied the innings by adding 117 runs for the fourth wicket. Bandara scored 70 and Arachchige scored 72.
At one stage, Sri Lanka A’s score had crossed the 300-run mark, but the Indian bowlers staged a brilliant comeback thereafter. Auqib Nabi claimed four of the last five wickets to wrap up Sri Lanka A’s innings at 330. He finished with figures of 4/58 in 19.4 overs. Harsh Dubey and Yash Thakur claimed two wickets each.
Sai Sudharsan injured; India’s concerns rise
India A, starting their second innings with a 122-run lead, suffered an early setback. Sai Sudharsan, who had scored a century in the first innings, got injured while batting on 7 in the fourth over and had to leave the field as ‘retired hurt’.
Following Sai Sudharsan’s departure, Devdutt Padikkal and young Chhattisgarh batter Ayush Pandey took charge. The pair added 48 runs without losing a wicket by the close of play. Both Padikkal and Ayush remained unbeaten on 20 runs each. India A will now aim to extend their lead beyond 250 runs on the fourth day and set a challenging target for Sri Lanka A.
Brief scores:
India A 452/6 decl. & 48/0 (Devdutt Padikkal 20, Ayush Pandey 20) lead Sri Lanka A 330 (Nuwanidu Fernando 84, Sahan Arachchige 72, Ashen Bandara 70; Auqib Nabi Dar 4-58) by 170 runs.
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