KL Rahul and bowlers keep India A in the hunt chasing 412
Nathan McSweeney's 85 held Australia's innings together but they were dismissed for 185
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Sep-2025 • 1 hr ago
Manav Suthar took eight wickets across the game • Tanuj/ Ekana Cricket Stadium
India A 194 (Sai Sudharsan 75, Thornton 4-36, Murphy 2-38) and 169 for 2 (Rahul 74, Sudharsan 44*, Murphy 2-49) need 243 runs to beat Australia A 420 (Murphy 76, McSweeney 74, Suthar 5-107) and 185 (McSweeney 85, Brar 3-42, Suthar 3-50)
A collective bowling effort from India A, followed by KL Rahul's 74 from the top, kept them in the hunt on day three, chasing a daunting 412 set by Australia A. They raced to 169 for 2 in the final two sessions, at over four runs an over, to keep up with the high-scoring rates seen through this series.
Rahul retired hurt in the final hour of play, paving the way for Devdutt Padikkal to walk in at No. 4. He has been picked for the home series against West Indies, but could not capitalise on the game time, falling to Todd Murphy for just 5. Earlier, Murphy had also claimed the wicket of N Jagadeesan (36) to break an 85-run opening partnership. Sai Sudharsan looked on course to hit his second fifty of the match at stumps, and finished the day on 44 not out alongside Manav Suthar, promoted to nightwatcher.
The day began with Australia A on 16 for 3, which soon became 17 for 4. Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney, unbeaten overnight, consolidated for the visitors with a 90-run partnership alongside Josh Philippe. Suthar dismissed Philippe after he had scored a 48-ball 50.
"I like having that approach against spin," Philippe said when asked about his aggressive batting in this match. "You know, especially now with the rough and the left-arm spinner coming around the wicket... I feel like sort of that hard sweeping - both reverse and normal - are really good options for me and shots I'm quite good at. So, yeah, [I was] just really trying to stick to my strengths."
McSweeney, who had already made 74 in the first innings, did not find much support from the lower order as the frontline India bowlers shared the wickets among them. Suthar took three wickets to finish with 8 for 157 in the match, accounting for Phillipe and Todd Murphy (12), having scalped up Oliver Peake in the final over of the second day. Gurnoor Brar added Jack Edwards (10) and Will Sutherland (0) to his own tally to finish with three in the innings too, while Mohammed Siraj and concussion substitute Yash Thakur finished with two wickets apiece.
The hosts' bowling effort meant Australia A were restricted to 185, and India A's start kept their chances of chasing a stiff target alive. Philippe identified the need for early wickets when Australia A take the field tomorrow. "We just sort of need that one breakthrough early tomorrow and yeah, hopefully we can get on a roll on and yeah, get three or four [wickets]," he said.
Negotiating the spinners will be India A's biggest challenge as they enter the final day with 243 runs to get with eight wickets in hand.
