KL Rahul made an eight-ball duck before joining India’s ODI squad, and India A were bowled out for 113 in Lincoln
Simon Keene took 5 for 24 and only Yash Rathod’s late 44 not out got India A past 100, before New Zealand A’s openers put on 132 on the first day.
Oct 24, 2026
KL Rahul goes from this match to India’s ODI squad in New Zealand, and he would have wanted some time at the crease first. He got eight balls. Rahul edged Fraser Sheat behind for a duck in the third over at Bert Sutcliffe Oval, and India A were bowled out for 113 in 39.3 overs on the first day of the first four-day game against New Zealand A in Lincoln.
By the close New Zealand A were 135 for 3, already 22 ahead. Their openers had put on 132 before India A took a wicket.
Keene takes five
New Zealand A chose to bowl, and Simon Keene and Zak Gibson did most of the damage. Keene finished with 5 for 24 from 11.3 overs and Gibson had 3 for 29.
India A’s best stand before the last wicket was 30 for the second wicket, between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal. Gibson ended it by getting Jaiswal for 17, and the collapse began. Keene bowled Sai Sudharsan for a duck and then had Dhruv Jurel, the captain, caught for 1. Gibson took Padikkal for 32 and Washington Sundar for 0, and India A were 58 for 6 in the 31st over.
Five of the eleven made ducks. Rahul, Sudharsan, Sundar, Akash Deep and Mukesh Choudhary all went without scoring.
Rathod’s 44 not out
Yash Rathod was the only batter who looked settled. He came in at No. 6, and when Choudhary joined him at 81 for 9 he was on 12 off 33 balls. Then he started swinging. Rathod scored all 32 runs of the last-wicket stand in 16 balls and was left on 44 not out off 49, with three fours and three sixes, when Keene got Choudhary for his fifth wicket.
New Zealand A pass 113 without losing a wicket
Rhys Mariu, New Zealand A’s captain, and Curtis Heaphy then batted together for almost 39 overs and took New Zealand A past India A’s total before they were separated. Mariu made 76 off 137 balls with 12 fours before Choudhary trapped him lbw in the 39th over. India A’s whole innings had lasted 39.3 overs.
Auqib Nabi gave India A something at the end of the day. He bowled Jayden Lennox and had Tim Robinson lbw next ball, and New Zealand A went from 132 without loss to 133 for 3. Heaphy, 37 not out off 108 balls, and Matthew Boyle saw out the last over.
India A’s top five have all played Test cricket, and between them they made 50. They will bat again in this match, but first they need the last seven New Zealand A wickets on the second morning, before a lead of 22 turns into something much bigger.