Australia A need 100 more after rain-hit, 12-wicket day

Australia A 228 and 4 for 59 (Handscomb 24, Bancroft 16*, Thakur 2-14) need 100 runs more to beat India A 230 and 156 (Jayant 46, Sayers 3-21, Worrall 3-43, Moody 3-64)
Scorecard

Twelve wickets fell on a rain-hit third day of the four-day match between Australia A and India A but both teams will consider themselves in with a chance when play resumes on Sunday in Brisbane. Australia A need 100 runs more in their chase of 159, while India A need six wickets.

Having eked out a two-run first-innings lead, India A resumed on 2 for 44 on the third day and collapsed to 156 all out. They managed to reach that score due to a late 46 from Jayant Yadav at No. 8. Australia A ended the day precariously placed at 4 for 59, after Shardul Thakur's two wickets in consecutive balls resulted in an early wobble for the hosts.

Batting under overcast conditions at the Allan Border Field, India lost overnight batsman Manish Pandey in the ninth ball of the day. Pandey was caught brilliantly at slip off new-ball bowler Daniel Worrall. Shreyas Iyer, India A captain Naman Ojha and Karun Nair all followed suit in quick succession, before Jayant strode out with the score at 90 for 6. He then single-handedly tried to lift India A to a respectable score, striking 46 of the next 66 runs they scored. Jayant was the last man dismissed, caught off medium-pacer Chadd Sayers in the last ball of the 48th over. He faced 75 balls for his 46 and struck eight fours.

Australia A's pace attack did the bulk of the damage, with Worrall, David Moody and Sayers taking three wickets each, while legspinner Mitchell Swepson accounted for Thakur.

Thakur then rocked Australia A with twin strikes in the seventh over, sending back opener Joe Burns and Travis Dean. Captain Peter Handscomb negotiated the hat-trick ball and raced away to 24 off 18 balls with help of five fours. However, Handscomb was dismissed by Hardik Pandya, before Varun Aaron trapped Marcus Stoinis lbw to send him back for an 11-ball duck.

Opening batsman Cameron Bancroft resisted for 74 balls and was unbeaten on 16. Giving him company at stumps was Beau Webster, who had faced 11 balls for his unbeaten 6.

Thakur ended the day with figures of 2 for 14 in six overs. Aaron and Pandya had a wicket each.