Lincoln: Ajinkya Rahane, vice-captain in the Indian Test set-up, showed signs of form as he scored a century on the fourth and final day of the second unofficial Test that India ‘A’ played against New Zealand ‘A’ at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval. The game ended in a draw.
The match saw all of the top five in the Indian batting line-up cross the 50-run mark in their second innings. While Shubman Gill (136), Hanuma Vihari (59) and Cheteshwar Pujara (53) had gone past the milestone on the third day, it was the turn of Vijay Shankar (66) to join the party on the final day.
While Pujara and Gill could not add much to their overnight scores, India ‘A’ continued to dominate as Rahane and Shankar shared a 120-run stand.
Rahane reached the three-figure mark in the final session before both teams shook hands to call it a day. The India vice-captain remained unbeaten at 101 with the team’s score on 467/5 in reply to the New Zealand ‘A’ total of 386/9 declared.
The first unofficial Test between the two sides had also ended in a draw at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, meaning the two-match series ended 0-0.
India and New Zealand will play a two-Test series starting February 21 in Wellington.
Brief Scores: New Zealand ‘A’: 386/9 dec (Daryl Mitchell 103*, Glenn Phillips 65; Sandeep Warrier 2/50, Mohammed Siraj 2/75); India ‘A’: 467/5 (Shubman Gill 136, Ajinkya Rahane 101, Vijay Shankar 66)
