The India 'A' side after a tough second day on the field against South Africa 'A' on Day 1 of the first unofficial Test in Potchefstroom had much to cheer about on the third day. After the first day was washed out dur to rain, South Africa reached 298 for 5. However, the innings came to an end on 319 with Prasidh Krishna picking a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick.
Prasidh, who received a call-up in Indian cricket team for the Cricket World Cup 2023, picked the wicket of overnight centurion Jean du Plessis while also traking th wickets of Eathan Bosch, Kurtlyn Mannikam, Siya Plaatjie and Odirile Modimokoane - the last four batters of the South African line-up.
According to reports, Prasidh Krishna is now the first-ever India-A bowler to take a hat-trick in first-class cricket. He is the sixth Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in first-class cricket while playing overseas. In doing so, he joined an elite list which has CS Nayudu (India vs. Surrey, 1946), CR Rangachari (India vs. Tasmania, 1948), Ramesh Divecha (India vs. Surrey, 1952), Irfan Pathan (India vs. Pakistan, 2006), and Jasprit Bumrah (India vs. the West Indies, 2019).
Talking about the match, Prasidh Krishna claimed a superb five-wicket haul, including a hattrick, before Pradosh Paul smashed a strokeful 163 as India 'A' reached 377 for six after dismissing South Africa 'A' for 319 on the third day of the first 'Unofficial' Test on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old right-arm pacer, who looked off-colour on the second day, completely derailed the hosts' batting as he first removed overnight batter Jean du Plessis (106) and then mopped up the tail on way to a hattrick as South Africa 'A' could add just 21 runs in 6.1 overs, losing all five wickets.
In reply, Pradosh, 22, was the fulcrum around which India A batting revolved as he slammed 23 fours and a maximum during his 209-ball innings at the Mangaung Oval here.
His batting effort thus complemented the sensational bowling display from Prasidh, who became the first pacer and second bowler after K Gowtham (2019) to bag a first-class hat-trick while representing India A.
After du Plessis, Prasidh sent back Eathan Bosch in the 95th over before dismissing Kurtlyn Mannikam and Siya Plaatije in the last two balls of his next over.
He then returned to complete his hattrick, getting rid of Odirile Modimokoane for a golden duck on the very first ball of his next over. Such was his dominance that all three hat-trick dismissals were clean bowled.
In reply, Sai Sudharsan (14) and Devdutt Padikkal (30) added 21 in 3 overs before the former was dismissed by Siya Plaatjie (1/55).
Pradosh then came to the crease and joined hands with Padikkal, adding 50 runs when the latter was sent back by Evan Jones.
The Odisha cricketer then found an able ally in Sarfaraz Khan (68) as the two shared a 130-run partnership.
Once Sarfaraz was dismissed by Odirile Modimokoane (1/54), Eathan Bosch struck twice in the 48th over as India quickly slumped from 201 for 2 to 224 for 5.
Pradosh then forged an alliance with Shardul Thakur (70 not out) as the duo added another 152 runs to overhaul South Africa A's total and take a 58-run lead.
Thakur was at the crease as stumps were drawn after the fall of Pradosh in the 78th over.
With PTI inputs