Only one result looked likely when the final day of the first unofficial Test between India-A and New Zealand-A got underway on an overcast Sunday morning. The match indeed ended in a draw at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, but not before a teenaged batter scored a sparkling, maiden First-Class hundred and an experienced wrist-spinner came up with a fine spell that should make him feel better.
The captains agreed to call off the match when 15 overs were remaining. The visitors had made 133 for four in their second innings, after conceding a lead of 171.
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Two of those wickets were claimed by Kuldeep Yadav, who finished with two for 38 from 22 overs, a significant improvement from one for 119 from 34 overs in the first. The left-arm wrist-spinner bowled well on a track that didn’t offer much.
He ended the 51-run partnership for the opening wicket, making Chad Bowes edge to slip. The other opener, Rachin Ravindra, scored 40 (84b, 6x4) before he was cleaned up by left-arm seamer Yash Dayal. New Zealand-A’s first-innings hero Joe Carter didn’t last long; he fished outside the off-stump against the other left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla and was caught behind for 14.
Earlier, the host resumed at 492 for four with both the overnight batters, Rajat Patidar and Tilak Varma, in sight of personal milestones. Patidar, though, failed to convert his hundred on India-A debut into a double. He could add just six more – 176 (256b, 411min, 14x4, 4x6) -- before seamer Logan van Beek had him caught at deep square-leg. The fifth-wicket partnership was worth 186.
Tilak, also making his debut, completed his hundred, however, with a splendid cut off van Beek. It was in fact his maiden First Class hundred, which came in only his fifth match. The stroke-full knock (121, 183b, 259min, 9x4, 6x6) from the 19-year-old was, in fact, one of the highlights of the match.
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