Published: Nov 30, 2018, 12:17 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 30, 2018, 12:17 PM (IST)
Following draws at Mt Maunganui and Hamilton, the closely-fought series remains on the line after India A safely negotiated a rain-affected first day’s play at Whangarei against New Zealand A, ending at 248 for four after first bad light and then rain brought about a premature close.
At the wicket were Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar unbeaten on 47 and 60, respectively; the pair combining in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 98 after India A started strongly, and then lost four wickets in a stop-start middle session.
Gill and Shankar had adopted contrasting styles, the former spending 147 minutes and 80 balls repairing the innings; the latter sprinting to his 50 off 44 balls and in 65 minutes while striking seven fours and a six.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, India A navigated the opening session without mishap; Ravikumar Samarth and and Abhimanyu Easwaran carrying their side to lunch at 56 without loss.
However, NZ A struck back midway through the second session.
Samarth squeezed a fullish ball from Doug Bracewell square of the wicket into the hands of Rachin Ravindra; Easwaran fended a short-pitched Blair Tickner delivery behind the wicket and Ankit Bawne shouldered arms to Bracewell and was bowled.
When captain Karun Nair was bounced out by Lockie Ferguson, India A had been reduced to 182 for four and needed a consolidation.
Gill and Shankar provided this, the pair supporting each other nicely until poor light stopped play after 69 overs.
Brief Scores: India A 248/4 (Vijay Shankar 60, Abhimanyu Eswaran 56, Subhman Gill 47*, Ravikumar Samarth 47; Dough Bracewell 2/43) vs New Zealand A
