New Zealand A vs India A: 2nd unofficial Test, Review- Siraj steals the show on rain-affected day

The match is well and truly heading towards a draw.

Published - 25 Nov 2018, 13:14 IST | Updated - 25 Nov 2018, 13:14 IST

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After an incredible first day’s play of the second unofficial Test in Hamilton, the second’s play between New Zealand A and India A was washed away owing to persistent rain, which played spoilsport even in the third day. Only 17 overs were possible and currently, India A are trailing by 296 runs after the home team decided to declare with the score at 303/7.

Siraj gets four

New Zealand A started the day with the score at 221/5 in 90 overs. Captain William Young and Theo van Woerkom were the overnight batsmen. However, the stand was broken by right-arm speedster Mohammed Siraj, who got rid of Young for 123 runs in the 92nd over. Woerkom went on to score a half-century and looked good to guide his team to a decent score.

Siraj accounted for his wicket in the 102nd over and Woerkom perished after scoring 54 runs from 133 balls with the help of eight boundaries. Thereafter, Lockie Ferguson and Seth Rance threw their bats around and cobbled together a partnership of 30 runs from 25 balls, which eventually remained unbroken. While Ferguson scored 23, Rance blazed away to 22.

Just one over for India

With a substantial score ahead of them, India opened with Abhimanyu Easwaran and Mayank Agarwal. India A had Prithvi Shaw in the first Test in Mount Maunganui, but he left for Australia yesterday to play the four-match Test series, which starts on December 6 at Adelaide Oval. On the other hand, it also was a chance for Easwaran to show his mettle with the willow in hand.

Unfortunately, India could only play one over on the day with seven runs on the board. Mayank Agarwal, Easwaran’s fellow opener, smacked one boundary of right-arm fast bowler Seth Rance. With one day remaining, the match is well and truly heading for a draw.