India A Highlights from the second unofficial Test show Yashasvi Jaiswal and the young Baroda batter Rathod both reaching centuries on Day 4, as India A and New Zealand A ground their way to a draw in a match that had threatened, right up until the final session, to produce a result.
Key Takeaways
- Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rathod both scored centuries on the final day of the second unofficial Test between India A and New Zealand A.
- The match ended in a draw after both sides batted deep into Day 4, with time and a flat pitch working against a result.
- The fixture is part of India A’s preparatory tour ahead of the senior India team’s five-match ODI series against New Zealand.
- Selectors will read the two centuries as fresh evidence for the middle-order queue behind an India top order still carrying question marks over fitness and form.
What Happened on Day 4 of the India A vs New Zealand A 2nd Unofficial Test?
Day 4 began with India A needing to bat time and build a lead big enough to make a declaration meaningful, or else accept that the match was heading nowhere fast. Jaiswal, who had looked fluent through the series, carried that form into the final day and brought up his hundred with the calm, unhurried method that has become his trademark against the new ball and the old one alike.
Rathod, batting lower in the order, played the more patient innings of the two. Reports from the ground suggest he took longer to get off the mark than Jaiswal but accelerated once set, reaching three figures in the final session as India A pushed the lead past a competitive total before the draw was confirmed with both sides shaking hands.
India A Highlights: How Did the Two Centuries Actually Build?
This is where a measured look at the innings matters more than the scorecard alone. Jaiswal’s hundred came off a method he has used repeatedly in first-class cricket — leaving the width outside off early, picking off anything straight through the leg side, and only opening up once the shine had gone. It is the same low-risk, high-return template that got him into the senior Test squad in the first place.
Rathod’s innings was different in character. He is a less proven name at this level, and the longer early struggle before his acceleration suggests a batter still working out the gap between India A bowling attacks and the stiffer New Zealand A seam attack on a surface that, by Day 4, had slowed considerably. That distinction matters for selectors trying to separate a one-off score from a repeatable method.
| Player | Team | Day 4 Outcome | Innings Character |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | India A | Century | Fluent, low-risk, settled method |
| Rathod | India A | Century | Slow start, accelerated once set |
| Match result | India A vs New Zealand A | Draw | Flat pitch, time lost to deep batting on both sides |
Why Did the India A vs New Zealand A Match End in a Draw?
Four-day unofficial Tests rarely produce results unless a team forces the pace with declarations, and neither side showed urgency here. India A batted long to consolidate a lead rather than set an aggressive target, and New Zealand A — fielding a developmental side with their own eye on technique over outcome — were never under pressure to chase a stiff target inside a compressed final session.
A pitch that had flattened out by the fourth day did the rest. Bowlers on both sides got little assistance once the shine wore off, and with the top order on both teams occupying the crease for long periods, a draw was the only realistic finish once the first two sessions passed without a clatter of wickets.
Why Does This India A Series Matter Right Now?
The timing is not incidental. This India A tour sits directly ahead of the senior India team’s five-match ODI series in New Zealand, and India’s selectors have made no secret of using A-team cricket as a proving ground for the next layer of batters behind an ageing core. Jaiswal’s own rise through domestic and A-team cricket into the senior Test XI is the template every young batter on this tour is chasing.
There is also a quieter context worth naming directly rather than skating past. Rishabh Pant’s return from injury has been handled by team management with the kind of vague, staggered updates that make it genuinely hard to know where his fitness actually stands — “first fitness results” is a phrase that tells a reader almost nothing about load tolerance, keeping workload, or a realistic return date. When a board controls the flow of information that tightly, any assessment of who deputises for Pant becomes more guesswork than analysis, and performances like Rathod’s hundred get read as auditions for a gap nobody has honestly defined yet.
What Does This Mean for the Rest of India A’s Tour?
One match does not settle a batting order, and a draw against a developmental New Zealand A side should be read with proportion. But two centuries in the same innings, from a settled senior-adjacent name in Jaiswal and a newer face in Rathod, gives India’s selection panel something concrete rather than a net session report to work from when the senior squad for the next assignment is picked.
Expect the chatter around both players to grow louder through the one-day leg of the tour. If India A plays further fixtures or a one-day series alongside the ODI tour, how Rathod responds against a sharper white-ball attack will tell selectors more than this draw does about whether his technique travels beyond a slow, worn Test pitch.
FAQ
Who scored centuries in the India A vs New Zealand A 2nd unofficial Test?
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rathod both scored centuries for India A on Day 4 of the second unofficial Test against New Zealand A.
What was the result of the India A vs New Zealand A 2nd unofficial Test?
The match ended in a draw after both teams batted deep into the fourth and final day on a pitch that had flattened out considerably by then.
Is this part of India’s senior tour of New Zealand?
No. This is a separate India A fixture against New Zealand A, played ahead of the senior India team’s five-match ODI series in New Zealand, and is typically used to assess fringe and emerging players.
Why do India A matches like this matter for team selection?
Selectors use India A performances to track form and readiness among players just outside the senior squad, especially when there are open questions about the fitness or workload of established players like Rishabh Pant.
Where can I find the full scorecard of this India A vs New Zealand A Test?
Full scorecards for unofficial India A fixtures are usually published by the BCCI and New Zealand Cricket through their official match centres and partner broadcast platforms.
Conclusion
Two centuries and a draw make for a modest headline, but the India A Highlights from this Test say more about selection pressure than the scoreline suggests. With the senior ODI series against New Zealand looming and Pant’s fitness still described in vague terms by team management, performances like these will be read far more closely than a routine draw usually deserves.