IND A vs NZ A: India fall short of win by one wicket in stunning turnaround

India A were left short of a remarkable victory in the first unofficial Test against New Zealand A on Tuesday (Oct 27) because of bad weather. After being on the back foot for the first two days of the four-day Test, the India A side turned around the match completely. On the final day (Oct 27), India A was bowled out for 516 in their second innings, leaving the hosts 313 to chase. India A took nine wickets out of the 10 needed for a stunning win, with New Zealand A managing to score only 187 before bad light stopped play. The match could not resume and ended in a draw, depriving India A of what could have been a sensational victory.

India A comeback ruined by bad light

On Day 1 (Oct 24) of the unofficial Test in Lincoln, India A batters found themselves out of place on a lively pitch as they were bowled out for 113 with only Yashasvi Jaiswal (17), Devdutt Padikkal (32), and Yash Rathod (32) going past the double-figure mark. In reply, NZ A scored 317 runs and took a lead of 204 runs on the back of fifties by skipper Rhys Mariu (76) and Dean Foxcroft (51).

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In the second innings, India A batters turned the game around with Padikkal scoring 199, Sai Sudharsan hitting 91, Rathod managing 66, and Washington Sundar chipping in with 52.

Bowling in the second innings, Auqib Nabi took three wickets in his opening spell to reduce NZ A to 13/3 inside five overs. A partnership was cultivated between Curtis Heaphy (90 not out) and Foxcroft (42) as they added 78 runs for the fourth wicket before the rest of the bowlers chipped in including Padikkal taking two wickets as well.

India A needed only one more wicket to close the game with a win, but bad light stopped play with NZ A at 187/9, leaving the miracle win one wicket short.