Day 3 of the second unofficial Test between India A and England Lions in Northampton saw a dramatic shift in momentum, largely due to a fiery spell from Indian pacer Khaleel Ahmed. England Lions, trailing India A by 156 runs at the start of the day, found themselves in deep trouble as Khaleel ran through their batting lineup.

The day began with England Lions at 192/3, with Tom Haines and Emilio Gay having set a solid foundation on Day 2. However, India A's bowlers, particularly Khaleel Ahmed, had other plans. Unlike the first practice match, the pitch in Northampton offered assistance to the pacers, and Khaleel exploited it to full effect.

Khaleel Ahmed struck early, removing James Rew, the England Lions captain, on the very first delivery of the 55th over. He followed this up with another wicket on the next ball, dismissing George Hill and putting himself on a hat-trick. Chris Woakes managed to survive the hat-trick ball, but the damage was done. Khaleel's double strike put England Lions under immense pressure.

Before Khaleel's intervention, Shardul Thakur, who opened the bowling with Khaleel, conceded a couple of boundaries. Khaleel's initial over also went for a few runs, but he quickly found his rhythm and began to trouble the England Lions batsmen with his pace and movement.

Khaleel continued his impressive spell by dismissing Chris Woakes, who was caught behind by Dhruv Jurel for just 5 runs. This was Khaleel's fourth wicket of the innings, leaving England Lions reeling at 230/7 and still trailing India A by 118 runs.

Earlier in the match, India A had posted a total of 348 in their first innings, with KL Rahul scoring a brilliant century. However, the other batsmen failed to capitalize on their starts, with several crossing the 30-run mark but unable to convert them into substantial scores. In response, England Lions had reached 192/3 at stumps on Day 2, with Tom Haines (54) and Emilio Gay (71) scoring half-centuries.

Concerns were raised about India A's pace-bowling all-rounders, Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy, as they struggled to make an impact on Day 2. Despite the swing-friendly conditions, they remained wicketless, which could be a worry for the selectors ahead of the England Test series.

The second unofficial Test is being streamed live on the JioHotstar and SonyLiv apps, as well as the ECB official app. Cricket fans can follow the match and watch Khaleel Ahmed's impressive performance.

India A's playing XI for the match includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (vc & wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Tanush Kotian, Anshul Kamboj, Tushar Deshpande, and Khaleel Ahmed.

England Lions' playing XI features Tom Haines, Ben McKinney, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Max Holden, James Rew (c & wk), Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue, Farhan Ahmed, Edward Jack, and George Hill.