Dhruv Jurel unbeaten on 99 as India A reach 291/7
Captain Dhruv Jurel led a lower-order recovery against New Zealand A on the opening day of the second unofficial Test.
India A reached 291/7 on the opening day of the second unofficial Test against New Zealand A at Hagley Oval on Saturday. Skipper Dhruv Jurel remained unbeaten on 99 to steer the visitors through a middle-order collapse.
The innings began poorly when Fraser Sheat dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck in the opening over. Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan steadied the score with a 91-run partnership for the second wicket, with Sudharsan scoring 41.
Padikkal went on to score 80, including 12 boundaries, before being bowled by Sheat. His dismissal triggered a setback where India A lost three wickets for six runs, slipping to 137/5.
Sheat claimed the wickets of Padikkal and Smaran Ravichandran, while Washington Sundar was also dismissed for eight. Following this, Jurel partnered with Manav Suthar for a 62-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Jurel continued his resistance alongside Akash Deep, who remained unbeaten on 25. Jurel's innings included 11 fours and three sixes, leaving him one run short of a century at stumps.
Fraser Sheat finished with figures of 4-50, while Brett Randell, Jarrod McKay, and Jayden Lennox took one wicket each for New Zealand A.