South Australia 283 and 47 for 1 (Hunt 31*, McSweeney 13*) need 253 more runs to beat Victoria 285 and 297 (Kellaway 77, Dixon 76, Scott 4-49)

Contrasting but equally vital half-centuries from Victoria youngsters Campbell Kellaway and Harry Dixon alongside four wickets to Liam Scott set up a tantilising final day run chase for South Australia at Junction Oval in Melbourne.

Kellaway made 77 and Dixon plundered 76 as Victoria were bowled out for 297 on the third day. Scott took 4 for 49 while Henry Thornton bagged 3 for 44 to leave South Australia needing exactly 300 to win. They finished the day 47 for 1 with Henry Hunt and Nathan McSweeney, who had earlier left the field after bowling one ball, negotiating a challenging final hour.

Kellaway fought hard to make his second half-century of the match but Dixon's impressive innings in the afternoon ensured Victoria had a decent total to defend as they look to keep alive their hopes of making the Sheffield Shield final.

Where Kellaway showed hard graft for the second straight innings, Dixon showcased a stunning display of counterattacking batting following a collapse where Victoria lost 5 for 20. There were shades of Travis Head in the 19-year-old left-hander as he pummeled six fours and five sixes. Anything wide and overpitched was laced through cover while length balls sailed onto the hill forward of square.

Kellaway had batted through a difficult period on the second evening and the entire first session on the third day as the Junction Oval surface continued to offer plenty for the bowlers. He was fortunate to survive on 31 when the edged Brendan Doggett behind but Harry Nielsen spilled the chance diving his left.

Marcus Harris was not as fortunate. Harris chopped on trying to a leave a length ball that reared a touch off Doggett for a hard fought 19. Blake Macdonald was much more fluent, striking four boundaries, but he fell trying to drop-kick Scott over midwicket and instead skied a catch to mid-on.

Kellaway and Peter Handscomb appeared to settle in after lunch and looked set to build a hefty total for Victoria. But just as they did in the first innings, the home side suffered a huge middle-order collapse with Scott and Thornton doing the damage.

Kellaway had copped a barrage of short balls and his strokeplay had become a little frantic before he edged to slip trying to drive Scott on the up. Thornton then hurried Handscomb with a short ball and his attempted pull was skied straight up to Nielsen.

Thornton found Sam Harper's outside edge with another delivery that climbed before he rattled the top of Sam Elliott's off stump with a terrific ball that angled in and straightened. Scott got one to snake through Xavier Crone's gate at the other end to also clean bowl him.

Dixon watched all of this carnage unfold having walked in after Kellaway had fallen. He was completely unflappable thumping a handful of superb cover drives whenever the bowlers overpitched.

He found a superb ally in Fergus O'Neill who made a busy 34, rotating the strike and frustrating South Australia with his slightly unorthodox method. The pair put on 80 for the eighth wicket.

When O'Neill fell, Dixon let loose. With men stationed everywhere on the rope he thumped five sixes over the leg side including two in a row off Doggett, one of which sailed out of the ground over square leg. He finally miscued one on 76, hitting Scott straight up to hand the allrounder his fourth wicket.

Conor McInerney's tortured match-up with Scott Boland continued. After being clean bowled in the first over of the first innings, he nicked Boland to first slip in the opening over of the second innings only for Macdonald to grass the knee high chance. It did not cost much. McInerney made just 1 off 24 balls before nicking Boland again with keeper Harper pouching the chance diving low to his left.

Hunt enjoyed some fortune at the other end nicking a couple of balls short of slip. He also survived a very close lbw shout off Elliott. McSweeney, too, nicked Boland short of slip but thereafter both players settled and played positively whilst defending and leaving well.