Padikkal made 199 after India A were all out for 113, and New Zealand A’s last pair survived the Lincoln gloom for a draw
India A came back from 204 behind and needed one more wicket when the light went at Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
Oct 27, 2026
India A were bowled out for 113 on the first day in Lincoln and still finished the game one wicket away from winning it. New Zealand A were 187 for 9 chasing 313 when bad light took the players off on the fourth evening, with Curtis Heaphy unbeaten on 90 and Jayden Lennox on 6, and play did not resume. The first unofficial Test ended in a draw.
More than nine overs from the last pair
The chase started badly for the hosts. Auqib Nabi bowled captain Rhys Mariu in the third over, had Tim Robinson lbw later in the same over and then bowled Matthew Boyle, and New Zealand A were 13 for 3. Dean Foxcroft made 42 and added 78 with Heaphy for the fourth wicket, but the wickets kept coming at the other end. When Akash Deep bowled Simon Keene, it was 170 for 9 in the 56th over.
That should have been the finish. It wasn’t, and the light is most of the reason. The umpires stopped India A using their fast bowlers, which is how left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary ended up bowling left-arm spin. Devdutt Padikkal’s part-time off-spin had already done some work, with Fraser Sheat and Zak Gibson both caught by KL Rahul at first slip. Heaphy and Lennox lasted more than nine overs together before the light meter came out one more time and the umpires took them off.
Heaphy faced 187 balls. Lennox faced 24, which turned out to be enough.
Padikkal’s 199 and the decision that ended it
India A were only in a position to win because of what they did in their second innings. They trailed by 204 after New Zealand A replied to their 113 with 317, and they were 10 for 2 when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rahul went cheaply again. Rahul was out hit wicket for 4. Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan then put on 215 for the third wicket, Sudharsan made 91, and Padikkal kept going to 199 off 248 balls, with 24 fours and three sixes.
He did not get the last run. Padikkal was given out caught behind down the leg side off Gibson, and replays suggested the ball had come off his pad rather than his bat. With no DRS in the match, there was nothing he could do except gesture to umpire Brad Wilson that he had not hit it, and walk off. Yash Rathod made 66, Washington Sundar 52 and Nabi 38, and India A were all out for 516.
How the first day went wrong
The draw does not hide how bad the first innings was. India A lasted 39.3 overs. Simon Keene took 5 for 24, Rathod’s 44 not out was the top score, and Jaiswal, Rahul, Sai Sudharsan and captain Dhruv Jurel made 18 runs between them. Mariu’s 76 and Foxcroft’s 51 then took New Zealand A to their big lead, with Anshul Kamboj and Nabi taking three wickets each.
What the Test selectors will take from it
Eight of this India A side are in the 16-man squad for the two Tests in New Zealand later in November, so this was a real trial. Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan and Washington will feel good about it. Jaiswal and Rahul will not. They made 26 runs between them in four innings, and Rahul is the Test vice-captain.
I would not read too much into one result on a dark Lincoln evening. I would read something into India A needing 516 to get back into a game they nearly lost on the first day. They have two more chances to look tidier: the second match is in Christchurch from 31 October to 3 November, and the third is back in Lincoln from 7 to 10 November.