India A finished the opening day of the second four-day match against New Zealand A at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday at 291 for seven, with Dhruv Jurel one short of a century.
Jurel remained unbeaten on 99, sharing an unbroken 69-run eighth-wicket partnership with Akash Deep, who was batting on 25 at stumps. The pair helped India A recover after a day in which the visitor struggled to build substantial partnerships, with only two other batters crossing the 40-run mark.
As it happened — Day 1 of IND A – NZ A
Sai Sudharsan made 41, while Devdutt Padikkal, who had struck a magnificent 199 in the first match in Lincoln, scored 80 before being dismissed. Yashasvi Jaiswal endured another disappointing outing, falling for a four-ball duck.
Manav Suthar provided some resistance lower down the order with a gritty 22 off 46 balls, but it was Jurel who held the innings together. Having already scored a Test century against Sri Lanka in Colombo in August, the wicketkeeper-batter showed composure and patience as he moved to within one run of another hundred.
Fraser Sheat was the pick of the New Zealand A attack, finishing the day with four for 50.
Published on Oct 31, 2026
