Christchurch: Dhruv Jurel led a spirited lower-order recovery with an unbeaten 99 as India A finished the opening day at 291/7 against New Zealand A in the second unofficial Test at Hagley Oval on Saturday.
After being put in to bat, India A suffered an early setback when Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck by Fraser Sheat in the opening over.
Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan steadied the innings with a valuable 91-run partnership for the second wicket. Sudharsan scored 41 off 63 deliveries before falling to Jarrod McKay.
Padikkal continued to hold one end together, bringing up a well-compiled 80 off 127 balls, including 12 boundaries. However, his dismissal triggered a middle-order collapse as India A lost three wickets for just six runs to slip to 137/5.
Sheat was the chief architect of the collapse, picking up crucial wickets, including those of Padikkal and Smaran Ravichandran.
With India A struggling, captain Jurel stepped up to steady the innings. He found valuable support from Manav Suthar, who contributed 22, as the pair added 62 runs for the seventh wicket.
Following Suthar's dismissal, Jurel continued his resistance alongside Akash Deep, guiding India A towards the 290-run mark.
Jurel remained unbeaten on 99, striking 11 fours and three sixes, while Akash Deep was unbeaten on 25 as the visitors ended the day in a much stronger position after their middle-order struggles.
For New Zealand A, Fraser Sheat led the bowling attack with four wickets, while Brett Randell, Jayden Lennox and Jarrod McKay chipped in with one wicket apiece.
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