Rain washed out the final two days at Lincoln as India A and New Zealand A drew the third unofficial Test, with all three matches ending level. Jasprit Bumrah bowled six overs for 11 runs, Ravindra Jadeja did not bowl, and the senior side head to Wellington.
Lincoln, New Zealand: The weather had the last word. After a rain-shortened first day, the third unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A lost its third and fourth days to rain, and with them any hope of a result. All three four-day matches in the series ended in draws.
Jaiswal’s second hundred anchors 464
India A declared on 464 for 5. Yashasvi Jaiswal made 102 off 138 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes, his second hundred of the series. He and Sai Sudharsan added 175 for the first wicket, and Sudharsan went on to 88 off 215 balls. Tilak Varma was unbeaten on 81 off 164, captain Dhruv Jurel hit 71 off 95 and Washington Sundar was also unbeaten, on 50 off 107. The opening day had belonged to Jaiswal and Sudharsan as well.
New Zealand A, who chose to field, got no further than 36 for 2 in reply by the close of the second day, with Dean Foxcroft on 10 and Zak Gibson on 1. Prasidh Krishna took both wickets for 12 runs. Gibson, who finished with 2 for 73, was the home side’s leading wicket-taker.
Six overs for Bumrah
The washout cost the senior players the match practice they wanted. Bumrah bowled six overs for 11 runs before the rain arrived. He had last played on 3 October, in the Asian Games final against Pakistan, and was rested from the white-ball leg of the New Zealand tour. Jadeja batted for about 80 minutes, scoring 25 off 71 balls, but did not bowl because India A sent down only 14 overs in the entire match.
Wellington next
Bumrah, Jadeja, Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Sudharsan, Sundar and Akash Deep will now travel to Wellington, where the senior side hope to fit in six training sessions, weather permitting. The two-Test series begins there on 19 November. Padikkal’s 199 in the first unofficial Test has reportedly strengthened his claim to the No. 3 spot ahead of Sudharsan, while Akash Deep, who is returning from a long injury layoff and was part of India’s squads for the New Zealand tour, may be considered as a fourth specialist pacer alongside Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
Rain has followed India around New Zealand this week. It also forced the third ODI in Hamilton to be abandoned without a ball bowled.
Result (third unofficial Test, Bert Sutcliffe Oval, Lincoln, 7–10 November 2026): Match drawn. India A 464/5 declared (Yashasvi Jaiswal 102, Sai Sudharsan 88, Tilak Varma 81*, Dhruv Jurel 71, Washington Sundar 50*; Zak Gibson 2/73) drew with New Zealand A 36/2 (Prasidh Krishna 2/12). New Zealand A won the toss and chose to field. Series: all three unofficial Tests drawn.
