IND A vs NZ A | Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari’s efforts go in vain as Kiwis dominate Day 1
The opening day of the first unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A saw the hosts dominate after Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari's fight went in vain as India collapsed for just 216. Courtesy Michael Rae’s 4 for and Rachin Ravindra’s 47, the Kiwis are 111 runs adrift of India A’s total.
Having lost the unofficial ODI series 2-1, India A are off to a rather subdued start in the first unofficial Test in Christchurch as New Zealand A bowled them out for just 215. The hosts dominated Day 1 of the encounter as at stumps, as they remain just 111 runs behind India A’s first innings total with eight wickets in hand.
Invited to bat first, India were off to an awful start, losing senior player Mayank Agarwal for a duck. By the 17th over, the visitors were knee-deep in the mud as they were soon reduced to 34 for 3, after which skipper Hanuma Vihari walked in.
The ever-so-reliable Vihari (51), along with young gun Shubman Gill (83), steered the ship to safety as the duo put up an impressive 119-run stand to rescue the visitors. While Gill, who is hailed as a future star of the nation, worked his way with ease, Vihari took a vigilant role and looked solid against an impressive Kiwi bowling line up.
However, with the score 153/3, The Kiwi glovesman held on to a rebound off silly mid-on to remove a resilient Vihari, whose 79-ball stay in the middle consisted of eight boundaries. When it looked like Srikar Bharat (16) was settling in for a long stay with Gill, the latter fell prey to Michael Rae, hence triggering a landslide within the Indian ranks.
Pacer Rae, who stood out with four wickets, was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers, as off-spinner Cole McConchie ably supported him with 3 wickets to restrict the Indian batters to a modest total of 216.
The home side rushed to 105 for 2 in the 33 overs they faced on the first day with Will Young (26) and night-watchman Ajaz Patel (1) remaining unbeaten at stumps. New Zealand, however, did lose skipper Hamish Rutherford (28) and Rachin Ravindra (47) to Ishan Porel and Mohammad Siraj respectively but will begin Day 2 on the front foot, hoping to build a big lead on the touring Indian side.
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