Axar Patel showed his all-round prowess with an unbeaten 69 as India ‘A’ posted 417 for 8 against South Africa ‘A’ and swelled their lead to 157 runs on a rain-hit third day in the second and final unofficial 'Test' in Wayanad, Kerala, on Thursday.
Only 22 overs were bowled during the day following heavy rain, allowing the hosts to add another 75 runs to their total.
After his five-wicket haul, southpaw Axar displayed his all-round capabilities, his runs coming off 93 balls and including 10 boundaries and two huge sixes off off-spinner Dane Piedt (5-191).
This is fifth first-class half-century scored by India's limited-overs specialist.
He added 69 runs for the ninth wicket with another left-hander, Karn Sharma (batting 19).
The duo came together after India lost two quick wickets in the morning. Wicketkeeper-batsman Ankush Bains (35) added only one run to his overnight score before he edged one off Hardus Viljoen to Reeza Hendricks in the slips.
Jayant Yadav (0) was the next batsman out, clean bowled by Piedt. The dismissal gave the bowler his second five-for in the series.
At 348 for eight within first four overs of the day, play was halted due to a steady downpour.
Once it resumed after a fairly long break, Axar took on the attack, blasting the pacers and spinners alike. He was severe on Piedt, who went for a few runs, and also hit some confident strokes off Viljoen and Lonwabo Tsotsobe's bowling.
With a 150-plus lead and a day's play left, India ‘A’ are likely to declare at the start of proceedings on Day 4 and give their bowlers a shot at the opposition line-up.
Scorecard
South Africa ‘A’ (1st innings): 260
India ‘A’ (1st innings): (Overnight 342/6)
J Singh c Vilas b Tsotsobe 52
A Mukund lbw b Piedt 72
B Aparajith c Ramela b Piedt 34
S Jackson b Piedt 25
A Rayudu c Bavuma b Piedt 71
V Shankar c Vilas b Tsotsobe 21
A Bains c Hendricks b Viljoen 35
A Patel batting 69
J Yadav b Piedt 0
K Sharma batting 19
Extras: (b-14, lb-3, nb-2) 19
Total: (for 8 wickets, 110 overs) 417
Fall of wickets: 1-96, 2-168, 3-169, 4-224, 5-253, 6-309, 7-347, 8-348
Bowling: Tsotsobe 22-6-52-2, Viljoen 27-7-89-1, Hendricks 3-0-11-0, Piedt 45-4-191-5, Van Zyl 11-2-33-0, Ramela 1-0-15-0, De Kock 1-0-9-0.
