A FINE rearguard action by Pondicherry frustrated Vidarbha’s push for an outright victory on Day 3 of their four-day U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy match at the VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Tuesday. Shot out for 82 in the first innings, Pondicherry batsmen displayed remarkable resilience after being forced to follow-on in the second innings. Jivithesan (59) and Aahil Kachru (78) added 91 runs for the opening wicket before the former fell to Himanshu Kawale. Kachru and skipper P Shailesh then took the score to 158 before Iknoor Singh removed the former and Prajankumar in quick succession. However, Shailesh (36*) and Srujan Sinhasan (15*) saw their team home till stumps on Day 3. Pondicherry, with 198-3 on the board, still need 50 runs to make Vidarbha bat again. Brief scores: Vidarbha 1st innings: 330 . Pondicherry 1st innings: 82. Pondicherry 2nd innings: (f/o): 198-3 in 95 overs (Jivithesan 59, Aahil Kachru 78, P Shailesh 36*; Iknoor Singh 2-5). Pondicherry trail by 50 runs.