Prasidh Krishna claimed a superb five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick, 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 in Potchefstroom, 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 hat-trick 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.
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.
Brief Scores: South Africa 'A' 1st Innings: 319all out in 98.1 overs (Jean du Plessis 106, Rubin Harmann 95; Prasidh Krishna 5/43, Saurabh Kumar 3/83) vs India 'A' 1st innings: 377 for 6 in 77.2 overs (Pradosh Paul 163, Shardul Thakur 70 not out; Eathan Bosch 2/46, Evan Jones 2/83).
