India A vs Australia A: India A's third-wicket stand between Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal on Day 2 against Australia A is drawing attention for its approach to record-breaking territory, especially as they move closer to India A's highest third-wicket partnership record of 197.

It was set by Manpreet Juneja and VA Jagadeesh in 2013 against New Zealand A. Their current unbeaten partnership of 178 runs now places them among the top 20 partnerships for India A, just shy of the top 10 overall.

Highest Partnerships for India A — Devdutt Padikkal with Sai Sudharsan (Photo: cricket.com.au

Top 10 Partnerships for India A

Overall Partnerships

Partners	Runs	Wkt	Opposition	Ground	Match Date
Akash Chopra, Subramaniam Badrinath	410*	5th	South Africa A	Delhi	13 Sep 2007
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Priyank Panchal	352	1st	Sri Lanka A	Belgaum	25 May 2019
Ashok Menaria, Mandeep Singh	318	5th	New Zealand A	Lincoln	3 Oct 2012
Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill	315*	5th	West Indies A	Tarouba	6 Aug 2019
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran	283	1st	Bangladesh A	Cox's Bazar	29 Nov 2022
Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal	277	1st	South Africa A	Bengaluru	4 Aug 2018
S Sriram, Wasim Jaffer	247	2nd	Warwickshire	Birmingham	30 Jul 2003
Venugopal Rao, Ambati Rayudu	229*	5th	Kenya	Nairobi	26 Aug 2004
Sanjay Raul, Rohan Gavaskar	227*	6th	Pakistan A	Lahore	1 Mar 1998

Top 10 Partnerships for the Third Wicket

Partners	Runs	Wkt	Opposition	Ground	Match Date
Manpreet Juneja, VA Jagadeesh	197	3rd	New Zealand A	Visakhapatnam	2 Sep 2013
Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara	176	3rd	South Africa A	Rustenburg	17 Aug 2013
Shubman Gill, Priyank Panchal	167	3rd	New Zealand A	Christchurch	30 Jan 2020
Ravikumar Samarth, Karun Nair	166	3rd	West Indies A	Beckenham	4 Jul 2018
Satyajit Parab, Rohan Gavaskar	148	3rd	Nottinghamshire	Nottingham	2 Jul 2003
Hanuma Vihari, Karun Nair	136	3rd	West Indies A	Taunton	10 Jul 2018
Shubman Gill, KK Nair	135	3rd	South Africa A	Mysore	17 Sep 2019
Parthiv Patel, Akash Chopra	159	3rd	South Africa A	Delhi	13 Sep 2007
Akash Chopra, Hemang Badani	122	3rd	Guyana	Georgetown	7 Mar 2003
S Sriram, Rona Gavaskar	116	3rd	Glamorgan	Swansea	24 Jul 2003

The day began with a solid start for India A, capitalizing on the bowling efforts of Mukesh Kumar, who took 6 for 46, supported by Prasidh Krishna's 3 for 51. The Australian side, after a stable start, was bowled out for 195, thanks to a disciplined display from India A's pacers. This set the stage for Sudharsan and Padikkal, who stabilized the innings following two quick wickets.

Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal's unbeaten 178-run partnership currently ranks below India A's record-breaking 410-run partnership for the fifth wicket by Aakash Chopra and S. Badrinath against South Africa A in 2007 at Delhi.

Other notable records in the top 10 include the first-wicket partnership of 352 between Abhimanyu Easwaran and Priyank Panchal against Sri Lanka A in 2019, and a 318-run stand by Ashok Menaria and Mandeep Singh for the fifth wicket against New Zealand A in 2012. The Sudharsan-Padikkal pair has created a solid foundation, now aiming to add their names to this prestigious list.

Sai Sudharsan, leading from the front, demonstrated poise and sharp timing to reach an unbeaten 96 by stumps, while Padikkal's well-paced 80 not out complemented the captain's approach. Their partnership has not only erased the deficit but extended India A's lead to 120 runs, putting pressure on Australia A.

As India A heads into Day 3 with momentum, Sudharsan and Padikkal are well-positioned to push their partnership further up the charts. Their performance has set India A up for a commanding position, with an opportunity to build a significant lead that could define the game.