Nabi's two-in-two gives India A hope after Keene triggers batting collapse

Simon Keene and Zak Gibson picked up eight wickets between them to roll India A over for just 113 on the first day of the first four-day fixture in Lincoln on Saturday. Rhys Mariu and Curtis Heaphy, opening the batting for New Zealand A, then took their team to 132 before the first wicket fell.

By the end of the day, after Auqib Nabi had picked up two wickets in two balls, New Zealand A were 135 for 3, 22 runs in front already. Mariu scored 76, while Heaphy is still unbeaten, on a patient 37 scored off 108 balls.

The Indians' capitulation earlier in the day, after they were asked to bat, was abject.

KL Rahul, who will leave for the New Zealand vs India ODIs after this game and would have wanted time in the middle, lasted eight balls before he edged Fraser Sheat behind for a duck.

Then followed India A's best phase, when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal added 30 runs for the second wicket, the second-highest of the innings. But Jaiswal fell to Gibson for 17, B Sai Sudharsan (duck) and Dhruv Jurel (1) became Keene's first and second wickets in quick succession, Padikkal (32) and Washington Sundar fell to Gibson, and it was starting to look quite awful for the visitors at 58 for 6 in the 31st over.

Yash Rathod walked out at No. 6 and looked comfortable, but the procession continued at the other end thanks to Keene and Gibson, and Kristian Clarke chipped in with the wicket of Anshul Kamboj.

When Rathod was joined by last man Mukesh Choudhary, he was on 12 off 33 balls, but with the scoreboard reading 81 for 9, Rathod decided to hit out. He scored all 32 runs in the last-wicket stand, off just 16 balls, to finish on 44 off 49, with three fours and three sixes, before Choudhary became the fifth batter to fall for a duck and Keene's fifth wicket.

Mariu and Heaphy then scored more than the entire Indian batting line-up between themselves, Mariu the more enterprising partner in their 132-run stand, scoring 76 in 137 balls before being trapped lbw by Choudhary in the 39th over; for context, India A's innings lasted 39.3 overs. Soon after that, Nabi made it seven ducks for the game so far with the wickets of Jayden Lennox and Tim Robinson. But Heaphy and Matthew Boyle saw the last over out.

India A would hope to pick up the remaining wickets quickly on the second morning to stay in the contest, while New Zealand A would hope to bat sufficiently long to put the match beyond India's reach.