Sri Lanka A chase 153 for series-levelling victory

Sri Lanka A 226 (Kandamby 60, Trivedi 4-23) and 6 for 0 trail India A 172 and 206 (Badani 49) by 147 runs
Scorecard

Seventeen wickets fell on the second day and Sri Lanka A got into a great position to level the series against India A in Mumbai. They need to score 147 more runs to square the three match series at one apiece.

After wresting the advantage yesterday, Sri Lanka A were pegged back by Amit Bhandari who struck three quick blows in the morning. Naveed Nawaz (47) and Anushka Polonowita (42) failed to add substance to their overnight scores and when Rangana Herath edged his fifth ball to Ajay Ratra behind the stumps, Bhandari had raised hopes of an Indian fightback.

But Thilina Kandamby's breezy 60 put an end to all such hopes as Sri Lanka A gained a valuable 54-run lead. Kandamby's innings contained eight fours and was compiled in 79 balls. Siddharth Trivedi finally put an end to the lower-order resistance by picking up the last three wickets.

The batting script for India A in their second innings followed a similar pattern to the first. Hemang Badani made a fine 49 as all fell around him with the Sri Lankan bowlers sharing the spoils. Tharanga Lakshitha was the most successful bowler with three wickets.

That left the visitors a modest target of 153 in their final innings. There could well be a final twist tomorrow in this low-scoring battle, but Sri Lanka A hold all the aces.