New Zealand A 135 for 3 (Mariu 76, Heaphy 37*, Nabi 2-31) lead India A 113 (Rathod 44, Padikkal 32, Keene 5-24, Gibson 3-29) by 22 runs
By the close, Auqib Nabi had claimed two wickets in two balls, and New Zealand A were 135 for 3, holding a 22-run advantage.
Mariu made 76, while Heaphy remained unbeaten on 37 off 108 balls.
India’s innings, after they were asked to bat, was difficult to read.
KL Rahul, who was expected to get some cricket before traveling to the New Zealand vs India ODI series, lasted eight balls before edging Fraser Sheat behind for a duck.
India A’s best phase then came when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal added 30 for the second wicket, the team’s best partnership of the innings. Jaiswal fell to Gibson for 17, B Sai Sudharsan fell for a duck, and Dhruv Jurel for 1, as Keene claimed his first two wickets in quick succession. Padikkal made 32, and Washington Sundar fell to Gibson, leaving India at 58 for 6 in the 31st over.
Yash Rathod walked in at No. 6 and looked comfortable, but the rest of the batting continued to fall. Kristian Clarke accounted for Anshul Kamboj.
When Rathod was joined by last man Mukesh Choudhary, he was on 12 off 33 balls, but with the score at 81 for 9, Rathod decided to hit out. He scored all 32 runs in the last-wicket stand, off just 16 balls, finishing on 44 off 49 with three fours and three sixes, before Choudhary became the fifth batter to fall for a duck and Keene took his fifth wicket.
Mariu and Heaphy then scored more than the Indian batting line-up between themselves, with Mariu the more enterprising partner in their 132-run stand, scoring 76 in 137 balls before being trapped lbw by Choudhary in the 39th over; for context, India A’s innings lasted 39.3 overs. Soon after, Nabi sent Jayden Lennox and Tim Robinson back, taking his haul to seven wickets in the game. Heaphy and Matthew Boyle saw out the last over.
India A would hope to pick up the remaining wickets quickly on the second morning to stay in the contest, while New Zealand A would hope to bat sufficiently long to put the match beyond India’s reach.
