India A all out for 113 as New Zealand A pacers dominate in Lincoln

India A were dismissed for 113 by New Zealand A at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln in the opening unofficial four-day match on October 24, 2026. New Zealand A, having won the toss and elected to bowl, used the grassy surface to full effect to wrap up the visitors' first innings in under two sessions.

New Zealand A's decision to bowl paid immediate dividends on a pitch with noticeable grass covering. Fraser Sheat removed KL Rahul for a duck, and a brief stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal offered the only real resistance before the visitors collapsed. Simon Keene produced a probing seam spell that extracted movement from the surface and finished with five wickets.

Fraser Sheat provided the game's first breakthrough by dismissing KL Rahul for 0 from eight balls, with wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay taking the catch. The delivery was described as pitched up around off-stump and swinging away; Rahul played an expansive drive away from his body without much foot movement and edged to Hay.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal put together a partnership after Rahul's early exit, but Zak Gibson ended Jaiswal's stay. Simon Keene then caused further damage, claiming five wickets as his movement off the pitch left India A's batting line-up unable to construct sustained partnerships.

With India A reduced to 95/9, Yash Rathod led the late fightback, putting together a last-wicket stand with Mukesh Choudhary and doing the bulk of the scoring. Rathod struck a four off Keene in one over and, in the 39th over against Fraser Sheat, smashed three sixes to collect 18 runs—pulling a short delivery over deep square leg, flicking another over fine leg and hitting a third over the boundary—to reach 44 off 49 balls and push India A beyond 100.

India A's playing XI read: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Dhruv Jurel (captain and wicketkeeper), Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudarsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar. New Zealand A named: Rhys Mariu (captain), Matt Boyle, Max Chu, Kristian Clarke, Dean Foxcroft, Zak Gibson, Mitch Hay (wicketkeeper), Curtis Heaphy, Simon Keene, Jayden Lennox, Jarrod McKay, Tim Robinson, Fraser Sheat.

New Zealand on Friday named an extended 19-member squad featuring 11 current and former international players for the three four-day matches against India A, with Canterbury's Rhys Mariu to captain the team in the first two matches and the captain for the third game to be announced later. The squad includes Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Dean Foxcroft, Matt Fisher, Mitch Hay, Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Henry Nicholls and Tim Robinson, who have represented New Zealand at the international level, and the schedule could affect the availability of some senior players for the entire India A series.

Sitanshu Kotak, India's senior team's batting coach, stressed the series' value, saying: "There is a lot of importance of India A series. Because, a lot of Test players, a lot of fringe players, those who are waiting for their opportunity, it is also very good for them. "And, before the Test series, see, even the senior players, somewhere or the other, the match practice of the red ball is very important. So, all in all, the setup that has been done, which the BCCI has kept with the India A Series, will definitely help the team," Kotak told reporters. Akash Deep, who is also part of India's Test squad, will look to build his rhythm and match fitness during the series.

Rishabh Pant will miss the match as he continues his recovery at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, with Kumar Kushagra replacing him in the squad for the first two matches after Pant suffered a left-side strain while leading the Rest of India team in the Irani Cup; a decision on Pant's availability for the third match will be taken later and captain Dhruv Jurel remains available as a wicketkeeping option. The second and third unofficial Tests are scheduled to be played in Christchurch from October 31 to November 3 and in Lincoln from November 7 to 10, while India's three-match ODI series against New Zealand begins on November 4.