Indian batters found the going tough on a green top wicket as a star-studded India ‘A’ folded for a paltry 113 on Day One of the unofficial Test against New Zealand ‘A’ here on Saturday.
dismissed Kiwi batters Jayden Lennox (0) and Tim Robinson (0) on consecutive deliveries to reduce NZ ‘A’ to 135-3, ahead by 22 runs, when the stumps were drawn at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
Right-arm seamer Simon Keene caused the maximum damage to the visitors with a fifer (5-24).
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 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 batted well for 32 off 77 balls, spending nearly two hours in the middle.
If the Indian side were able to go past the 100-run mark, it was largely due to Vidarbha batter Yash Rathod’s unbeaten 44 at No. 6.