Sri Lanka A's bowlers exposed India's tail before ending four wickets short of a surprise victory at Grace Road.

Chasing 294 off 57 overs for victory in the three-day match, England's Test opponents opted to go for the draw after reaching tea on 92-3.

But they lost three wickets to lbw verdicts in the final session and had to hang on grimly through Gautam Gambhir (53) and Ramesh Powar (14).

Earlier, Michael Vandort made 117 before Sri Lanka A declared on 265-7.

What may offer the England team some encouragement ahead of Thursday's final Test was the collective failure of three of India's Test batsman.

Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Dhoni and VVS Laxman were all dismissed cheaply for the second time in the game.

A slow pitch combined with occasional variable bounce caused India problems but they did not help their cause with some careless strokeplay.

The Sri Lankans had a real sniff of victory when India were reduced to 122-5 with 25 overs remaining.

Everyone knows how important the Oval Test is and we are all in a good frame of mind for it Wasim Jaffer

When right-arm seamer Dammika Prasad then trapped captain Rahul Dravid for 15, India looked in serious danger.

But Gambhir, with his second half-century of the game, and Ramesh Powar steered them safely through the next 12 overs at which point both sides settled for the draw.

Tall left-handed opener Vandort had posted an elegant century to follow up his 52 in the first innings.

Life had been made easier for Sri Lanka's batsmen with all India's Test bowlers, bar Anil Kumble, rested.

Oddly, Kumble ended the match wicketless from 20 overs.

At the close of play, opening batsman Wasim Jaffer (48 & 55) said: "I feel in good form. I have got a few good scores and now I want to try to turn those into a big score in a Test match.

"Everyone knows how important the Oval Test is and we are all in a good frame of mind for it."