Spaniard Cabrera Bello and Australian Ormsby moved to within one shot of the Indian after recording a six-under-par 64 and a five-under-par 65 respectively at the Hong Kong Golf club to move to joint-second.
"I'm happy with the score today, although I definitely left a couple of shots out there, Chawrasia said after the round.
"I felt a little extra pressure today which probably why missed a couple of putts but I will think I can do something special tomorrow.
"This course really suits my game... I'll definitely have to shoot a low number to win because someone just behind me will definitely go low."
Swede Alexander Bjork and Ormsby led along with Chawrasia at the turn before the 39-year-old Indian surged ahead.
Recently-crowned Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood, Bjork and Belgian Thomas Detry are a shot behind Cabrera Bello and Ormsby while defending champion Sam Brazel fell well off the pace.
(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
