After bowling Australia A out for 185 in the second innings, India A made steady progress towards their 412-run target in the 2nd Unofficial Test at Lucknow. On the final day of the game, India A will still require 243 runs to win with eight wickets in hand.

Having lost four wickets cheaply at the end of Day 2, Australia A mounted resistance this morning. Nathan McSweeney and Josh Philippe shared a 90-run stand for the fifth wicket to rescue their side from a perilous position. Philippe's knock was counterattacking as he struck eight boundaries in his 48-ball 50 before being dismissed by Manav Suthar.

While there were no other significant contributions from the rest of Australia A's order, a couple managed to stick around with skipper McSweeney who notched up fifty and remained unbeaten after his side was bowled out for 185 in the second session. Wickets were shared around amongst the Indian bowlers with Suthar and Gurnoor Brar taking three each and Mohammed Siraj and Yash Thakur accounting for two each.

Chasing 412 for victory with over four sessions left in the game, India's openers started positively. N Jagadeesan, in particular, scored briskly as India headed to Tea on 39/0. The opening stand was broken after Jagadeesan, who had slowed down considerably after the break, was dismissed by Todd Murphy.

KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan then batted solidly in the final session and shared a 65-run stand before the former retired hurt. Devdutt Padikkal was then dismissed cheaply just before Stumps leaving India on 169/2.

Brief Scores: Australia A 420 & 185 (Nathan McSweeny 85*, Josh Philippe 50; Gurnoor Brar 3-42, Manav Suthar 3-50) lead India A 194 & 169/2 (KL Rahul 74*, Sai Sudharsan 44; Todd Murphy 2-49) by 242 runs