India A Fold For 113 On Day 1 Of Unofficial 1st Test Against New Zealand A

Indian batters found the going tough on a green-top wicket as a star-studded India A folded for a paltry 113 on the opening day of the unofficial Test against New Zealand A on Saturday. Auqib Nabi dismissed Kiwi batters Jayden Lennox (0) and Tim Robinson (0) on consecutive deliveries to reduce New Zealand A to 135/3, leading by 22 runs, when stumps were drawn at Bert Sutcliffe Oval. The right-arm seamer Simon Keene caused the maximum damage to the visitors with a five-wicket haul (5/24), troubling the Indian middle and lower order.

India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (17 off 45 balls) yet again struggled to convert a good start into a substantial knock, edging one to the slip cordon off Zak Gibson (3/29), while his opening partner KL Rahul could not open his account, nicking a Fraser Sheat delivery behind.

At No. 3, Devdutt Padikkal was the most successful among the specialist batters as he made 32 off 77 balls, spending nearly two hours in the middle and hitting five boundaries.

There were as many as five ducks in the Indian innings, two from specialist batters and three from tailenders.

If the Indian side was able to go past the 100-run mark, it was largely due to Vidarbha batter Yash Rathod's unbeaten 44 at No. 6, an innings in which he used the long handle to good effect.

The left-handed Rathod smashed three sixes and as many fours to score his runs off just 49 balls and could have added more had he not run out of partners.

Anshul Kamboj struck a couple of fours to make 10 towards the end.

India A made their first breakthrough only after New Zealand A had taken the lead in the first innings, with skipper Rhys Mariu (76) and Curtis Heaphy (37 not out) adding 132 runs for the opening wicket.

Mukesh Choudhary trapped Mariu lbw for a well-made 76 off 137 balls, studded with 12 fours, to break the opening partnership, after which Nabi struck twice in the penultimate over of the day.

The Jammu and Kashmir pacer Nabi, who has been touted as one of India's potential weapons in the two-Test series against New Zealand, gave a good account of himself.

Nabi cleaned up nightwatchman Lennox before trapping Robinson on the final two deliveries of the day to give the visitors a reason to smile after a largely gloomy day.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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