The four-day match between India A and New Zealand A ended in a draw at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

Earlier, resuming on the overnight score of 408/7, the hosts were dismissed seven runs short of the visitors’ first-innings score. Middle-order bat, Manprit C Juneja, who anchored the India A innings, was sent back by Mark Gillespie in the morning session, after the bowler had caught Dhawal Kulkarni off his own bowling in the previous over. Juneja’s knock was ended seven runs short of a double-century, leaving the home team on 430 for nine. The bowler than castled Imtiyaz Ahmad for a duck in his next over to end the India A’s first innings.

New Zealand A then came out to bat and lost opener Neil Broom to Kulkarni in the second over. The opener once again failed to open his account and returned with a pair. Tom Latham and Carl Cachopa then took the visitors to lunch at 49 for one. Continuing to build on their lead, NZ A were 173 for three when tea was taken; both Latham and Cachopa were trapped leg-before by Rakesh Dhruve.

With bad light interrupting the innings after tea, play was called off with the visitors on 176 for three. When play ended on the final day, Derek de Boorder and Corey Anderson were not out on 11 and 26 respectively.

The teams will now play three one-day matches.

Brief scores:

Day 1 – New Zealand A 1st innings 300/8 in 89 overs (A Devcich 115, C Anderson 100, D Kulkarni 2/26, J Saxena 2/69)

Day 2 – New Zealand A 1st innings 437 all-out in 121.1 overs overs (D Bracewell 96, I Sodhi 57); India A 1st innings 94/2 in 38 overs (VA Jagadeesh 40*, MC Juneja 43*; M Gillespie 1/11, D Bracewell 1/23)

Day 3 – India A 1st innings 408/7 in 124 overs (MC Juneja 178*, VA Jagadeesh 91, A Nayar 57; D Bracewell 3/75, T Astle 2/96)

Day 4 – India A 1st innings 430 all-outin 135.3 overs (MC Juneja 193, M Gillespie 4/80); New Zealand A 2nd innings 176/3 in 51.2 overs (C Cachopa 76, T Latham 61, R Dhruve 2/45)

Result – Match ended in a draw