Rain Ends India A vs New Zealand A Test in Draw at Lincoln
Rain had the final say in Lincoln on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, as the third unofficial Test between New Zealand A and India A ended in a draw and the three-match series finished 0-0, with all three games drawn.
Not a single ball was bowled on the final day at Bert Sutcliffe Oval. The covers were briefly removed in the morning, raising hopes of some play, but the rain soon returned and the umpires called the match off at around 1pm local time.
India A in command before the weather closed in
India A had put themselves in a commanding position before the weather intervened. Yashasvi Jaiswal's 102 laid the foundation for a first-innings total of 464 for 5 declared, with Sai Sudharsan adding 88, Tilak Varma an unbeaten 81, Dhruv Jurel 71 and Washington Sundar an unbeaten 50. Zak Gibson took two for 73 for the hosts.
New Zealand A had reached 36 for 2 by the close of the second evening, with Prasidh Krishna accounting for both wickets at a cost of 12 runs. India A's bowlers were in a strong position to press for a result, but the entire third day was washed out and the final day followed the same way, leaving them with no chance to bowl the hosts out.
Bowlers left short of practice
The washout was a particular frustration for India's returning fast bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna were both part of the India A squad for the match, but the rain denied them the red-ball overs they needed, with the pair bowling just 11 overs between them across the match.
That leaves questions over the sharpness of India's pace attack heading into the senior team's two-Test series against New Zealand, which begins on 19 November. The A series was intended as preparation for that assignment, and the weather has left the tourists short of the match practice they wanted.
For New Zealand A, the draw at least avoided defeat from a difficult position, but neither side will take much from a series in which the weather, rather than the cricket, decided the outcome. The full scorecard and match report are available from ESPNcricinfo and Cricbuzz.
