Jurel finishes day one on 99 not out as India A recover to 291 for 7 at Hagley Oval

Dhruv Jurel was left one run short of a hundred at the close of the opening day in Christchurch, his unbeaten 99 lifting India A from 160 for 6 to 291 for 7

India A's captain batted through the afternoon and the final session of the second unofficial Test against New Zealand A at Hagley Oval, facing 155 balls and finishing the day unbeaten alongside Akash Deep, who was 25 not out.

New Zealand A had chosen to field, and seamer Fraser Sheat justified the decision with 4-50 from 19 overs, striking in the first over of the match and later removing two batters with consecutive deliveries.

It is the second of three unofficial Tests on the tour, the first of which was drawn last week. Mohammed Siraj and Mukesh Kumar are still to bat when play resumes on Sunday.

Sheat strikes in the first over

Sheat trapped Yashasvi Jaiswal leg before for a four-ball duck in the opening over of the match, a dismissal that extends a lean run in red-ball cricket for the opener.

It was Jaiswal's fourth scoreless dismissal in nine innings since August, a sequence that includes a duck in the second innings of the first Test at Galle and a 13-ball duck for Mumbai against Chandigarh in the Ranji Trophy this month.

Jaiswal was left out of India's five-match one-day series in New Zealand, which begins in Auckland on November 4, and the senior Test series starts at the Basin Reserve in Wellington on November 19.

Padikkal and Sudharsan rebuild

Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan answered the early loss with a second-wicket stand of 91, which remained the largest partnership of the innings.

Sudharsan made 41 off 63 balls before he was caught behind off Jarrod McKay, who went for 106 runs in his 21 overs.

Padikkal went on to 80 from 140 balls, the only other substantial score of the day, and was bowled by Sheat with the total on 137.

Six down for 160

Yash Rathod had already fallen for 13, caught behind off Brett Randell, to leave India A 131 for 3 shortly before Padikkal's dismissal.

Sheat removed Ravichandran Smaran leg before with the next delivery, and when Washington Sundar was trapped in front for 8 from 40 balls, India A had slipped to 160 for 6.

Jayden Lennox returned 1-33 from 14 overs and Randell 1-43 from 16 as India A scored at 3.31 an over across the day.

Jurel farms the lower order

Jurel, who keeps wicket as well as leading the side, added 62 for the seventh wicket with Manav Suthar, who made 22 from 46 balls before he was caught behind off Lennox.

The eighth-wicket stand with Akash Deep was worth 69 by the close and remains unbroken, the pair seeing out the rest of the day without further loss.

Jurel will resume on 99 on Sunday morning, a single short of a century he has batted all day to reach.

A long tour before Wellington

The India A programme in New Zealand runs from October 24 to November 10, three four-day matches scheduled before the senior side's Test tour.

Several of the players on show are in contention for that squad, and the drawn first match left neither side with an advantage going into this one.

Two wickets remain for New Zealand A on the second morning, with Siraj and Mukesh Kumar the last pair to come.

Scorecard: India A 291 for 7 in 88 overs (Dhruv Jurel 99 not out, Devdutt Padikkal 80, Sai Sudharsan 41; Fraser Sheat 4-50) v New Zealand A, stumps on day one of the second unofficial Test at Hagley Oval.

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