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Rain ends third unofficial Test at Lincoln, India A series finishes level after three draws
No ball was bowled on the final day on Tuesday, so all three four-day matches against New Zealand A were drawn, with Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna short of match practice before the Tests.
Key points
- Rain ended play at 1 pm local time on Tuesday, November 10, with no ball bowled on day four.
- All three unofficial Tests were drawn, so the series finished level.
- The first Test against New Zealand starts in Wellington on November 19.
Rain returned to Lincoln on Tuesday, November 10, and the third and final unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A was abandoned as a draw at 1 pm local time without a ball bowled on the last day. With that, all three four-day matches of the series ended without a result and the series finished level.
India A had declared at 464 for 5 on Sunday and had New Zealand A at 36 for 2 at the close of day two, 428 runs behind. Monday was washed out entirely. Tuesday was the only day left to take eight wickets, and the weather did not allow even the start of it.
How the last day went
The rain that had stopped play on Monday carried into the final morning. Play was called off at 1 pm local time. Dean Foxcroft (10 not out) and nightwatchman Zak Gibson (1 not out) never resumed their innings, and the scorecard closed with the hosts still 428 runs adrift.
For India A, the cost was less about the result than about the preparation. The match was meant to give the Test-bound bowlers overs in the red-ball format before the senior series. Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna bowled only 11 overs between them, and Ravindra Jadeja did not bowl at all. Bumrah, who last played a Test in November 2025, sent down six wicketless overs on Sunday for 11 runs. Prasidh took both New Zealand A wickets, Rhys Mariu for a duck and Curtis Heaphy for 19, and ended with figures of 2 for 12.
The runs from the series
The batting is where India A left the most to talk about. Devdutt Padikkal led all run-scorers with 326 runs at an average of 65.20, and Yashasvi Jaiswal made 279 at 69.75 in five innings, including two centuries. The second of those, 102 at Lincoln, was the start of a 175-run opening stand with Sai Sudharsan, who made 88. Tilak Varma finished unbeaten on 81, Dhruv Jurel made 71 and Washington Sundar was not out on 50. Yash Rathod made 223 in two matches.
With the ball, Auqib Nabi and Mohammed Siraj were India A’s leading wicket-takers, with six and four wickets in the series. For New Zealand A, Foxcroft led the batting with 196 runs and Gibson took eight wickets, the most on either side.
Jurel’s form has strengthened his case for a place in the Test side, while Rishabh Pant’s availability remains uncertain. Pant is in the squad subject to fitness clearance, according to the BCCI advisory of October 16, 2026.
India A in New Zealand, unofficial Tests
- 3 of 3matches drawn
- 326runs for Devdutt Padikkal, the series' top scorer
- 279runs for Yashasvi Jaiswal in five innings
- 8wickets for Zak Gibson, New Zealand A's best
How the series got here
India A were bowled out for 113 in the first innings of the series opener, as we reported in our story on that day. The first two unofficial Tests were both drawn. At Lincoln, Jaiswal’s day-one century put India A on 227 for 2 before rain cut the day short, and the day-two declaration at 464 for 5 set up the chance of a win. The rain on day three removed most of it, and Tuesday took the rest.
What happens next
The India A series is over, and attention shifts to the senior team. India’s one-day side has just won its series in New Zealand, and the two-Test series is next. The first Test begins at Wellington on Thursday, November 19, at 3:30 am IST, with the second at Christchurch from Friday, November 27. Shubman Gill leads a squad that includes Jaiswal, Sudharsan, Padikkal, Jurel, Washington Sundar, Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna. KL Rahul is vice-captain.