India A fast bowler, Prasidh Krishna, ripped through the South Africa A lower-order very early in the first session on Day three to mark a remarkable turnaround of form having gone wicketless on Day two.
The fast bowler had to pull his weight and return faith shown in him by the Indian selectors who also picked him in the 16-men India Test squad that will take on the Proteas later this month.
The right-arm quick started the day off with Jean du Plessis’ wicket for an expertly carved 106 off 213, before going on to clean up the tail with very little damage as the hosts added only 21 runs to their overnight score of 298/5.
In response, right-arm seamer Siya Plaatjie took the newball for South Africa A and immediately charged in around the wicket to the left-handed India A opener, Sai Sudharsan (14 off 18), hunting for the outside edge of his bat.
Eventually, Plaatjie (1/54 off 11 overs) got his reward, getting the outside edge of Sadhursan’s bat with Cameron Shekelton completing an easy catch to hand the hosts their first scalp of the day well within the first ten overs.
However, Pradosh Paul and Sarfaraz Khan (68 off 85) rescued the visitors’ innings from 71/2 and added 130 runs for the third-wicket, frustrating the South Africans in the second session.
Left-arm off-spinner Odirile Modimokoane (1/54 in 11 overs) brought the match back into balance just when the visitors seemed to have settled on a steady pace, dismissing Khan. Eathan Bosch (2/46 in 13 overs) produced a double strike shortly after with the wickets of Dhruv Jurel (0 off 4) and Test wicket-keeper batter Srikar Bharat (6 off 20).
All the while, the 22-year-old Paul kept composed on his way to a fourth First-Class century while Test all-rounder Shardul Thakur asserted his dominance with nine boundaries and a six on his way to an unbeaten 94-ball 70.
To wrap up a day that saw over 390 runs scored, South Africa A all-rounder Evan Jones (2/83 in 14.2 overs) produced a peach of a delivery that beat Paul’s defence and bowled him out for a magnificent 163 runs off 209 deliveries, a knock that saw the youngster announce himself on the international stage with 23 boundaries and a six.
The visitors carry a 55-run lead into the fourth and final day while the hosts require another four wickets to have bat once more in the match.
The fourth and final day of the first unofficial Test gets underway at 10 am today at the JB Marks Oval.
Scorecard
South Africa: 319 all out (Jean du Plessis 106, Hermann 95; Krishna 5/43, Kumar 3/83)
India: 377/6 (Pradosh Paul 163, Sarfaraz Khan 68; Bosch 2/46, Jones 2/83)
India A lead: 58 runs
IOL Sport