Devdutt Padikkal rescues India A to a draw in first unofficial Test against New Zealand A
India A drew the first unofficial Test against New Zealand A at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, with Devdutt Padikkal’s big second-innings knock rescuing the side after a first-innings collapse for 113.
Curtis Heaphy’s unbeaten 90 was the other standout batting effort in a match that ended without a result on 27 October, the fourth day.
From 113 all out to a draw
NZ A won the toss and chose to field, and India A were bowled out for 113, an innings that included six ducks. In that first innings Yash Rathod top-scored with an unbeaten 44 off 49 balls, while Padikkal made 32 off 77.
Padikkal produced a very different innings second time round. He fell one short of a double century on 199, and half-centuries from Sai Sudharsan, Rathod and Washington Sundar helped India A fight back into the contest. The BCCI match page lists their second innings at 516 in 123.1 overs, against NZ A’s first innings of 317 in 89.3 overs.
Auqib Nabi took three wickets in each innings, finishing with six in the match.
Series context
This was the first Four-Day Match of India A’s New Zealand tour, part of India A in New Zealand 2026/27 (unofficial Tests), played from 24 to 27 October 2026. India A are led on this tour by wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel.
What’s next
The second unofficial Test starts on 31 October at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The third and final game begins on 7 November at Lincoln.
Before this tour, India A’s most recent red-ball games were against Australia A: they won one Test by 162 runs and drew the other.
