India A staged a remarkable comeback to dismiss England Lions for 199 before the batters propelled the home team to a position of strength on the second day of the third and final unofficial Test on Friday.
At stumps, India A were well-placed at 148 for three in their second innings and 141 runs ahead of the visitors, who suffered an inexplicable collapse after starting the day at 98 for one.
Sai Sudharsan (54 off 141 balls) was going strong in the middle, capping a fine outing for the hosts who were in all sorts of trouble on the opening day.
Tilak Varma (46 off 85 balls) got out after getting his eye in and his dismissal brought the day’s play to an end.
Thanks to the brilliant display by their bowlers, India A limited England Lions’ first-innings lead to a mere seven runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The right-left pace duo of Akash Deep (4/56) and Yash Dayal (3/32) shared seven wickets between them while plotting the visiting team batters’ downfall in their first innings.
Dayal, whose mother was inconsolable and had stopped eating after the left-arm seamer was smashed for five successive sixes by state-mate Rinku Singh in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match last year, has come a long way, giving his team the day’s first breakthrough.
Bowling a fine line and length, he had Oliver Price (31) trapped in front of the wicket as the overnight batter could add just 11 runs to his score of 20.
Dayal then took the big wicket of opener Alex Lees (64), who had started the day on 48, to raise hopes of a comeback.
Dayal had also picked up the wicket of opener Keaton Jennings (17) on Thursday evening before adding two more to his tally on the second day.
Meanwhile, Akash Deep got into the act by removing rival skipper Josh Bohannon for 10 as England Lions slipped to 136 for four, offering the hosts more reasons to smile.
The tourists needed a partnership at that stage but that was not forthcoming as the batters who got starts failed to convert them into meaningful contributions.
While the duo of Deep and Dayal inflicted maximum damage, Mumbai’s left-arm spinner Shams Mulani supported them well with two wickets.
When India A came out to bat the second time in the match, Sai Sudharsan and Tilak dominated the English bowlers with an 88-run stand for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed.
All-rounder James Coles, who bowls left-arm spin, took all three Indian wickets to fall in their second innings.
India A lead the series 1-0 after winning the second match by an innings and 16 runs.
Brief scores:
India A: 192 and 148/3 in 48.2 overs (Sai Sudharsan 54 batting, Tilak Varma 46; James Coles 3/63)
England Lions 1st Innings: 199 all out in 64.3 overs (Alex Lees 64; Akash Deep 4/56, Yash Dayal 3/32).
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