I knew the wind would keep all my nearest rivals from attacking the pin,' said Mukesh, who is now staring at his third PGTI title of the year.

Digvijay Singh had a bogey-birdie start in round three. After making a three-putted from 35 feet to bogey the first, he pulled one stroke back on the very next hole by sinking a 15-footer.

He soon picked up the pace with birdies on the seventh and eighth. Digvijay then missed out on some birdie opportunities from the 10th to the 14th as he failed to make some short putts.

The Gurgaon-based professional earned his last birdie of the day on the 16th where he hit his approach shot to within two feet of the pin. He bogeyed the 17th but closed with a good par on the 18th, having recovered after taking a penalty drop from the knee-high rough on the right.

Vijay Kumar carded a bogey-free 67 to be tied second along with Digvijay. His round included birdies on the seventh, 10th and 13th.

Feroz Ali Mollah, Shamim Khan and Vishal Singh are tied fourth at six under 204. Mollah's 64 was the best score of the day.