Jaiswal's second hundred in a row carries India A to 227 for 2 on a rain-hit day in Lincoln

Yashasvi Jaiswal followed his Christchurch century with another hundred as India A closed the rain-shortened opening day of the third unofficial Test on 227 for 2

Put in by New Zealand A at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, India A reached 227 for 2 from 69.3 overs on the first day, with Jaiswal's 102 the innings around which everything else was built.

He and Sai Sudharsan put on 175 for the first wicket before the stand was broken in the 47th over. Sudharsan was still at the crease when rain ended the day, unbeaten on 77.

The match is the last of three four-day fixtures on India A's tour, and the final red-ball cricket available to the reserve batters before the senior side opens a two-Test series against New Zealand on November 19.

A second hundred in two innings

Jaiswal made 102 from 138 balls with 16 fours and two sixes, reaching three figures for the second innings in a row and setting the tempo for a side that had been asked to bat first.

He was finally removed in the 47th over, caught by Cameron Paul off the bowling of Danru Ferns, having batted through the first two sessions available to him.

The innings came immediately after his 155 not out at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, where the second unofficial Test was drawn with India A 282 for 2 in their second innings.

Sudharsan settles in for the long haul

Where Jaiswal scored at better than a run a ball for long stretches, Sudharsan built slowly, taking 205 balls over his unbeaten 77 and finding the boundary 10 times.

It was the kind of innings the tour is meant to produce — long time at the crease in conditions closer to those the senior side will meet later in the month.

By the close he had batted through almost all of the day's play, seeing off the new ball and the spells that followed it.

He resumes on day two with the chance to turn a start into the substantial score that has so far eluded India A's middle order on this tour.

New Zealand A find little

Only two wickets fell all day, one each to Ferns and Jarrod McKay, and neither bowler was able to build pressure from both ends for long.

Devdutt Padikkal was the second to go, caught behind by Max Chu off McKay in the 63rd over for 15 from 53 balls, leaving India A on 209 for 2.

Max Chu's catch was one of the few moments of encouragement for a home attack that had watched the opening pair bat through the morning and well beyond lunch.

Captain Dhruv Jurel joined Sudharsan and was 12 not out at the close, the pair adding an unbroken 18 for the third wicket.

Rain has the final word

Persistent rain cost more than 20 overs and brought an early close, with 69.3 of the scheduled overs bowled.

With three days still to play, the weather rather than New Zealand A's attack may yet decide whether India A can convert their position into a result.

Form restored before the Tests

Jaiswal's tour began badly — 17 and 5 in the first unofficial Test, then a duck in the first innings at Christchurch — before the two centuries that have followed.

The remaining three days in Lincoln are the last red-ball cricket any of this squad will play before that series begins.

The senior squad, meanwhile, leads the ODI series 2-0 after winning the rain-shortened second match in Wellington by four runs on the DLS method.

Stumps, day one: India A 227 for 2 (Jaiswal 102, Sudharsan 77 not out) against New Zealand A, third unofficial Test, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln.