Jasmine Shekar produced a steady level-par 70, capped by a birdie on the closing hole, to take the outright lead after the second round of the 14th leg of the Hero Women's Professional Golf Tour at the Rambagh Golf Club here on Friday.
Jasmine, who opened with a 74, moved to a 4-over total of 144 and took a one-shot lead into the final round. She was leading the experienced duo of Vani Kapoor (75-70) and Ridhima Dilawari (74-71), who, between them, have won six titles this season. Also tied second with Kapoor and Dilawari was Durga Nittur (73-72) at 5-over 145. Overnight leaders Ananya Datar (71-75) and amateur Ojaswini Saraswat (71-76) slipped to fifth and sixth.
Jasmine had three bogeys in the first six holes and then birdied the 8th, 14th and 18th to claw back to even par.
Kapoor bogeyed the seventh and got back that shot on the 14th as scoring remained challenging at the Rambagh Club.
Ridhima, meanwhile, followed her opening 74 with a one-over 71. She had an encouraging start to the round, including a birdie on the second. She dropped shots on the fifth and the seventh and then had one birdie and one bogey on the back nine for a 71.
Durga also remained firmly in the hunt. After an opening 73, she carded a 72 to join Vani and Ridhima in second place. Her opening nine was particularly solid, with a 35, although a two-over back nine prevented her from taking a share of the lead.
The second round also saw the first-round leaders lose ground. Ananya Datar, who had set the pace with a one-over 71 on Thursday, slipped to a five-over 75 and dropped to fifth at 146. She is now two shots behind Jasmine but remains close enough to mount a challenge.
Amateur Ojaswini Saraswat also had a difficult day after beginning with a 71. She carded a six-over 76 to move to sixth at 147, three shots off the lead.
Riya Jadon was in seventh place with rounds of 74-74, while Lavanya Jadon and Shweta Mansingh shared eighth at 149. Further down, Mannat Brar, Sneha Sharan, Amandeep Drall, Shagun Narain and Khushi Khanijau were tied for 10th at 150.