IND A vs NZ A, 3rd Unofficial Test: Tilak, Sundar hit fifties as Prasidh Krishna shines on return

Prasidh Krishna made an immediate impact on return, picking up two wickets on day two after Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Dhruv Jurel scored fifties in the ongoing third unofficial Test against New Zealand A in Lincoln. Earlier, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a brilliant hundred (102) in the first innings, with fellow Sai Sudharsan scoring 88. In-form batter Devdutt Padikkal departed early for 15, while returning star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja scored 25. India A declared their first innings at 464 for five.

Ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah also returned to action for the first time since bowling in the final of the triumphant Asian Games campaign in Aichi-Nagoya, where India beat arch-rivals Pakistan to defend their gold medal. Bumrah, who bowled six overs for 11 runs without picking up a wicket, shared the new ball with Krishna, who returned with a pair late on the second day.

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Krishna first dismissed Rhys Mariu for a duck before accounting for his fellow opener Curtis Heaphy for 19, reducing New Zealand A to 36 for two at one stage. Mukesh Choudhary and Mukesh Kumar bowled three overs between them before stumps were taken, with India A leading by 428 runs.

Tilak, Jurel and Sundar Among Runs

Following a blistering start to the third and final unofficial Test, where the India A openers added 175 for the first wicket, the middle and lower middle order made most of the momentum. Having lost three wickets at stumps on the opening day, the India A batters made merry on day two, with Test regulars Jurel, Jadeja and Sundar among the run-scorers.

The surprise element, however, was Tilak Varma – India’s T20I mainstay – who scored an unbeaten 81 off 164 balls, including two sixes and five fours. While Jadeja missed out on his half-century, his fellow spin-bowling all-rounder Sundar completed his fifty in 107 balls, hitting just two fours.

For New Zealand A, seamer Zak Gibson picked up two wickets, while Jarrod McKay, Danru Ferns and Cameron Paul returned with a wicket each.