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Dhruv Jurel struck his second first-class century as India A batters flourished, except for captain Shreyas Iyer, with the hosts ending day three at 403/4, trailing by 129 runs against Australia A after their 532 in the first innings.
Apart from Jurel, who was unbeaten on 113, Devdutt Padikkal, B Sai Sudharsan and N Jagadeesan had gone past fifty at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. India A began day three trailing Australia A by 416 runs. Xavier Bartlett broke the second-wicket stand of 149, dismissing Jagadeesan for 64, caught behind by Josh Phillipe. Padikkal and Sudharsan then built a promising partnership, nearing a hundred, before Sudharsan fell lbw to Cooper Connolly, attempting a reverse sweep, for 73. Australia A struck again, with Corey Rocchiccioli dismissing Shreyas Iyer for 8, trapped lbw, just three overs later. This marked Iyer's third consecutive low score in first-class cricket, following dismissals for 25 and 12 against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final earlier this month. But Iyer's wicket turned out to be the last for Australia A on Thursday, as Jurel and Padikkal rebuilt for India A, who were now 294 runs behind at that stage. Padikkal was the patient of the two batters, taking his time in getting to fifty off 117 balls. Jurel, though, was the aggressor. He reached the landmark in just 54 deliveries by smashing Rocchiccioli for two consecutive sixes and a four. Rocchiccioli was the most expensive Australia. A bowler, conceding 128 runs in 24 overs at an economy rate of 5.33. Dhruv Jurel particularly targeted him, scoring 47 runs off Rocchiccioli's bowling at a strike rate of over a run per ball, hitting three boundaries and three sixes. Jurel's innings took only 132 balls as he batted at a strike rate of 85.61, much in contrast to Padikkal's 48.31. The left-hand batter went to stumps unbeaten on 86 and in sight of what will be his seventh first-class century. Their partnership was unbroken on 181, and they got those at nearly five runs an over. Jurel's innings was a brisk one, taking just 132 balls at a strike rate of 85.61, a stark contrast to Padikkal's 48.31. The left-hander remained unbeaten on 86 at stumps, tantalisingly close to his seventh first-class century. The pair's unbeaten 181-run partnership was adding runs at a rapid rate of nearly five runs per over. (ANI)
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