Devdutt Padikkal falls for 199 as India A reach 488/8 and lead New Zealand A by 284 on day three at Lincoln

From 113 all out to a lead of 284

New Zealand A won the toss, chose to field, and were all out for 317. Rhys Mariu made 76 and Curtis Heaphy 44, and the two put on 132 for the first wicket, and Dean Foxcroft made 51. The bowlers for India A who took wickets were Auqib Nabi and Anshul Kamboj with three each, Akash Deep with two and Mukesh Chaudhary and Washington Sundar with one each.

India A then batted badly and were all out for 113, with six batters out for nought. Only Yash Rathod, who was unbeaten on 44, and Padikkal, who made 32, got past 20. That left New Zealand A with a lead of 204 on the first innings.

How the lead was built

India A began their second innings 204 runs behind, so Padikkal and Sudharsan had to score that many before they could think about a lead, and the stand of 215 between them did it. By the time Rathod and Padikkal had added another 142, the lead was well past 100, and Sundar's late runs took it to 284. The scoring rate over 119 overs was about four runs an over, which is quick for a Test and gave the bowlers little rest.

India A's second innings was a different story. Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan put on 215 for the third wicket, a stand that wiped out most of the arrears. Sudharsan made 91, and was caught at square leg off Kristian Clarke, nine short of a century. Padikkal went on to 199, with 24 fours and three sixes, before he was caught behind off Zak Gibson, who took 2 for 58.

Rathod added to the recovery with a-run-a-ball 66 and a stand of 142 for the fifth wicket with Padikkal. Wickets then fell quickly, and Washington Sundar and Auqib Nabi, who made 38, added 69 for the seventh wicket. Sundar finished the day on 51 off 75 balls, with six fours, with Akash Deep at the crease on 0. The score at the close was 488 for 8 in 119 overs.

Padikkal missed a double century by one run. The innings came after the failure in the first innings, in which many of his team-mates were out for nought, and it makes him one of the batters who will be watched when India's Test selectors look for options in the middle order. The unofficial Tests against A teams are used as a testing ground, and big scores in them count when selectors discuss who is next in line.

Sudharsan's 91 and Rathod's 66 also add to the case of a group of young batters who are playing against New Zealand's second string in New Zealand conditions, where the ball seams and the pitches are different from those at home.

The day reversed the position of the match, which had been in New Zealand A's hands after India A's collapse, and the batting depth shown by Sundar and Nabi at seven and eight is a point in the team's favour.

India A have a lead of 284 with two wickets in hand and will look to add quickly in the morning before declaring, which would set New Zealand A a target of about 300 or more in what remains of the match. With four days of cricket from 24 to 27 October, the time left will decide how bold the declaration can be. New Zealand A's bowlers had an unrewarding day, and the new ball and the pitch will matter if India A bowl last.

This is the first of the unofficial Tests, and the result will set the tone for the rest of the tour. A full scorecard with the balls faced, boundaries and bowling figures of all the batters was not available from the sources at the time of writing, and the figures here are those that were reported.