New Zealand vs India A: Newcomers make an impact with fifties

Riding on half-centuries from the bats of newcomers Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari, India A scored a safe 340/5 at the end of the first day’s play against New Zealand in the first unofficial Test on Friday.
Senior pros like Ajinky Rahane and Murali Vijay failed to make a mark. Parthiv Patel was batting on 79 off 111 balls for India at the crease.

Vihari, who made his Test debut in the tour of England stroked his way to a fine 86 off 150 deliveries but was dismissed in the very last ball of the day after he found the boundary eight times.
Mayank Agarwal, who was picked in the Test squad against the West Indies earlier, also came up with a solid innings of 65 runs.

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India A got off to a good start with Shaw and Vijay adding 61 runs for the opening wicket. The young opener from Mumbai continued the same way he has been doing since the Tests against the West Indies and even after Vijay fell for 28, he looked unperturbed.

Shaw then added 50 more runs with Mayank Agarwal who too scored a half-century. Their stand was broken by medium pacer Blair Tickner.

After skipper Rahane failed to make an impact once again, it was the duo of Vihari and Patel who took India out of troubled waters with a 138-run stand as they ended with 340 on the board at the end of the day’s play.