Day 3 began under overcast skies in Bengaluru, and the conditions clearly impacted the flow of play. Overnight batter Riyan Parag was dismissed for 30 within the first half-hour, edging a delivery from Yash Dayal. Dhruv Jurel followed soon after, falling to a ball strangled down the leg side and eventually trapped in front by Navdeep Saini.
KL Rahul, who had fought hard the previous evening, saw his stumps broken by Washington Sundar shortly after, ending his 111-ball innings at 37 and leaving India A in a precarious position at 169/5.
Shivam Dube and Tanush Kotian then joined forces to navigate the difficult conditions, and they looked set to take the team to Lunch. However, a crucial spell from Mukesh Kumar saw Dube (20) and Kuldeep Yadav (1) dismissed, sending India A to the break at 207/7.
Upon resumption, Kotian and Akash Deep added 23 runs for the eighth wicket, but Kotian’s dismissal by Sai Kishore, followed by Mukesh and Kishore wrapping up the innings for 231, gave their side a 90-run lead.
Batting under the gloomy skies, Akash Deep and Khaleel Ahmed made the new SG ball swing sharply. Khaleel Ahmed struck first, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal for 9. Akash Deep followed, taking out Musheer Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran in successive overs, the latter with a stunning catch by Dhruv Jurel, leaving the team struggling at 33/3 at Tea.
The final session saw a dramatic turnaround as Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant began aggressively. In the first over after Tea, Sarfaraz hammered Akash Deep for five consecutive fours, and Pant added two more boundaries in the following over. The pair quickly brought up a fifty partnership in just 28 balls, with Sarfaraz reaching 44 with a four and a six off Khaleel Ahmed.
Look who was there in the India A huddle before the start of the day's play 😃 #DuleepTrophy| @IDFCFIRSTBank
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However, the introduction of Avesh Khan proved effective as he dismissed Sarfaraz for 44, ending the 72-run stand. Pant continued to attack, hitting five boundaries and a six to reach a 34-ball half-century. Gill turned to Kotian, who took the top edge off Pant’s sweep, dismissing him for 61 off 47. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar then faced the challenge of exaggerated reverse swing, and while they held firm for 39 balls…