At the end of Day 3 of their second unofficial four-day game against Australia A, India A find themselves in a tricky position, trailing by 108 runs, finishing at 158 for 4 in 60 overs with Akhil Herwardkar not out on 82 and Sanju Samson not out on 34.
After Australia A had been bowled out for 435, India A got off to a solid start with Herwadkar and Faiz Fazal putting on 80 runs for the first wicket before the latter was dismissed for 29, run out.
It was time for the Jon Holland show then, for the next few overs, as the left-arm spinner picked up three very quick wickets, that of Karun Nair, Manish Pandey and Naman Ojha for single-digit scores to reduce the visitors to 100 for 4.
But Herwadkar and Samson, who also played in the same Under-19 team in 2014, put on 58 runs to get some semblance back to proceedings and end the day on a more comfortable note.
Earlier in the day, The hosts were bowled out for 435 as Hilton Cartwright brought up his ton, making a fine 117. Shardul Thakur was the pick of the India A bowlers, taking a five-wicket haul and was supported by Jayant Yadav, who took three wickets.
Day 4 will be a crucial Test of the character that this team possesses. Herwadkar has a good chance of converting his present score into a biggie as does Samson and the lower-order, consisting of Hardik Pandya, who played a fine knock in the first innings and Jayant Yadav, will also have to chip in with the willow in hand to ensure that an inning defeat is avoided.
Australia A, on the other hand , will look to take the remaining six wickets quickly and seal a big win over the visitors.
Earlier in the tour, India A had won the quadrangular series , involving Australia A, South Africa A and the National Performance Squad(NPS).
Brief Scores: India A 169 and 158 for 4(Herwardkar 82*, Samson 34*) vs Australia A 435.
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