Devdutt Padikkal and B Sai Sudharsan helped India A make a comeback against New Zealand A on the second day of the first unofficial Test on Sunday.
However, India A were still 98 runs behind at the end of the day. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal once again failed to score big runs.
India A scored only 113 runs in their first innings before losing all their wickets. New Zealand A replied with 317 runs and took a lead of 204 runs. India A then scored 106 runs for the loss of two wickets in their second innings. Padikkal was not out on 56, while Sai Sudharsan was batting on 39. The two batters added 96 runs together for the third wicket.
India A had a poor start as Rahul and Jaiswal lost their wickets early. Rahul scored just four runs before the ball hit his bat and went onto the stumps. Jaiswal also failed to score many runs and was out for five. India A were left at 10 runs for two wickets.
Both players had also struggled in the first innings. Jaiswal scored 17 runs, while Rahul could not open his account. Their poor scores have raised concerns about their form before India’s upcoming Test matches, which are set to begin in the third week of November.
Padikkal and Sudharsan then took charge and helped India A return to the game. Padikkal got a lucky chance early in his innings when a catch off Kristian Clarke was dropped at second slip. He made good use of this chance and reached an unbeaten 56. Sudharsan also batted well and stayed at the crease after facing 104 balls.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand A continued their strong batting after starting at 135 runs for three wickets. India A fast bowler Anshul Kamboj took three wickets and reduced New Zealand A to 218 for seven.
However, Dean Foxcroft scored 51 runs before Washington Sundar dismissed him. Clarke then scored 42 runs and helped his team move closer to 300 runs. He also added runs with Zak Gibson before Akash Deep bowled him out.
Kamboj and Auqib Nabi took three wickets each for India A. Simon Keene and Fraser Sheat took one wicket each in India A’s second innings.
New Zealand A also got 46 extra runs in their first innings, which helped them build a bigger lead.
India A will hope Padikkal and Sudharsan continue to score runs on the third day. The team needs to score more runs to cover the 98-run gap and put New Zealand A under pressure.
Brief Scores: India A 113 and 106/2 in 36 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 56 not out, B Sai Sudharsan 39 not out; Simon Keene 1-19, Fraser Sheat 1-26) trail New Zealand A 317 (Rhys Mariu 76, Dean Foxcroft 51; Anshul Kamboj 3-52, Auqib Nabi 3-69) by 98 runs.