<p>India A were comfortably-placed at 137 for two in their second innings after New Zealand A declared their first essay despite being 105 runs behind the visitors on the third and penultimate day of the first unofficial cricket Test here today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Kiwis were 234 for eight in reply to the Indians' 339 all out when they decided to declare after playing out 78 overs.<br /><br />The hosts managed to get this far riding on opener Tom Latham's dogged knock of 132, that came off 207 balls and included 14 hits to the boundary.<br /><br />Latham shared a 122-runs fifth-wicket partnership with his overnight partner Reece Young (54), who faced 135 deliveries and smashed seven fours.<br /><br />These two were the cornerstones of the Kiwi reply which was painfully slow given that it took them 62.6 overs to touch the 200-mark.<br /><br />After Young was trapped in front of the wicket by spinner Rahul Sharma, Latham shared another 50-run partnership with Sam Wells (18) and the host team's innings continued till the time the opener was in the middle. <br /><br />For India, Shami Ahmed (3/56) and Rahul (2/49) and R Vinay Kumar (2/65) did the wicket-taking job while keeping it tight in terms of the runs conceded.<br /><br />India's reply was a steady one after the early loss of under-19 skipper Unmukt Chand (8).<br /><br />The other opener, Abhinav Mukund continued his fine form and struck a 60-ball 41, including six boundaries, before becoming Sam Wells' only victim of the day.<br /><br />But the fall of these two wickets did not hurt India too badly as Anustup Majumdar and Mandeep Singh put on 64 unbeaten runs for the third wicket.<br /><br />Majumdar was the more aggressive of the two as he smashed a 79-ball 52, including six boundaries. Mandeep, on the other hand, faced 53 deliveries for his patient 29.<br />The two were holding fort for India when play was stopped early due to bad light for the third day in a row.<br /><br />Brief Scores:<br />New Zealand A: 234 declared<br />India A: 339 and 137 for two in 36 overs (Anustup Majumdar 52 batting, Abhinav Mukund 41, Sam Wells 1/34).</p>
<p>India A were comfortably-placed at 137 for two in their second innings after New Zealand A declared their first essay despite being 105 runs behind the visitors on the third and penultimate day of the first unofficial cricket Test here today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Kiwis were 234 for eight in reply to the Indians' 339 all out when they decided to declare after playing out 78 overs.<br /><br />The hosts managed to get this far riding on opener Tom Latham's dogged knock of 132, that came off 207 balls and included 14 hits to the boundary.<br /><br />Latham shared a 122-runs fifth-wicket partnership with his overnight partner Reece Young (54), who faced 135 deliveries and smashed seven fours.<br /><br />These two were the cornerstones of the Kiwi reply which was painfully slow given that it took them 62.6 overs to touch the 200-mark.<br /><br />After Young was trapped in front of the wicket by spinner Rahul Sharma, Latham shared another 50-run partnership with Sam Wells (18) and the host team's innings continued till the time the opener was in the middle. <br /><br />For India, Shami Ahmed (3/56) and Rahul (2/49) and R Vinay Kumar (2/65) did the wicket-taking job while keeping it tight in terms of the runs conceded.<br /><br />India's reply was a steady one after the early loss of under-19 skipper Unmukt Chand (8).<br /><br />The other opener, Abhinav Mukund continued his fine form and struck a 60-ball 41, including six boundaries, before becoming Sam Wells' only victim of the day.<br /><br />But the fall of these two wickets did not hurt India too badly as Anustup Majumdar and Mandeep Singh put on 64 unbeaten runs for the third wicket.<br /><br />Majumdar was the more aggressive of the two as he smashed a 79-ball 52, including six boundaries. Mandeep, on the other hand, faced 53 deliveries for his patient 29.<br />The two were holding fort for India when play was stopped early due to bad light for the third day in a row.<br /><br />Brief Scores:<br />New Zealand A: 234 declared<br />India A: 339 and 137 for two in 36 overs (Anustup Majumdar 52 batting, Abhinav Mukund 41, Sam Wells 1/34).</p>