Siraj and Mukesh share nine wickets as second unofficial Test in Christchurch drifts towards draw

India A and New Zealand A were engaged in the second unofficial Test in Christchurch on Sunday, with Mohammed Siraj and Mukesh Kumar sharing nine wickets as the match moved towards a draw at stumps on Day 3.

India A posted 346 in their first innings and were 32/0 (Jaiswal 20*, Sai Sudharsan 11) at the close, trailing New Zealand A, who were all out for 424, by 46 runs. The two pacemen’s performance provided match practice ahead of India’s upcoming two-Test series against New Zealand. The pitch offered little assistance to bowlers and time remaining suggested a drawn finish was likely.

New Zealand A’s 424 came after they had been in trouble during the middle session; the hosts ultimately finished with a 78-run first-innings lead. Siraj finished with figures of 4/118 from 35 overs and Mukesh 5/87 in 29 overs, the pair accounting for all ten wickets in the innings.

On Day 3 Siraj struck early, dismissing Matthew Boyle for 110 with Devdutt Padikkal taking an excellent catch, and then removing Dean Foxcroft for 93, curtailing the partnership that had occupied much of the previous day.

The hosts’ lower order resisted thereafter: Kristian Clarke and Fraser Sheat added 47 for the eighth wicket before Mukesh accounted for Clarke, and Sheat combined with Jayden Lennox for a 31-run ninth-wicket stand. Mukesh completed his five-wicket haul by later removing both Sheat and Lennox; the wicket tally was the 12th five-wicket haul of his first-class career.

Jarrod McKay and Jayden Lennox added 55 runs in 24.5 overs, batting for more than an hour in the final session to frustrate the visitors and extend the hosts’ total after New Zealand had been reduced to 338/8 earlier in the innings. That lower-order resistance ensured New Zealand finished with a healthy advantage despite the earlier collapse.

India A negotiated the last 11 overs of the day without loss, with Jaiswal and Sudharsan looking composed against the new ball and reducing the deficit to 46. With one day remaining and the surface still favouring batsmen, a draw is the likeliest outcome when play resumes for the final day.