Yashasvi Jaiswal hit crucial form with an unbeaten 155 while Yash Rathod made 100 not out as India A batted out the final day of the second unofficial Test against New Zealand A for a draw. The pair added an unbroken 247 for the third wicket after India A had slipped to 35/2, with the teams shaking hands four balls post Tea once Rathod got to his 11th first-class ton.

Rain and drizzle delayed the start of the fourth and final day but when play finally started under leaden skies, New Zealand A struck twice in as many overs. Jarrod McKay had Sai Sudharsan caught at leg gully by Tim Robinson in the first over of the day while Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 80 in the first innings, was bowled for a golden duck by Brett Randell, the right-arm pacer’s delivery straightening from round the wicket.

Jaiswal, though, didn’t let New Zealand A build on those breakthroughs. Having come into the match after a string of middling scores, including a duck in the first innings here, Jaiswal took the attack to the bowlers without much risk-taking. Rathod soon followed his lead in a run-a-ball double-century stand as India A wiped off the 78-run deficit in the 20th over.

New Zealand A were already two bowlers short, with Fraser Sheat (side strain) and Jayden Lennox (hamstring) unable to bowl. Jaiswal took full advantage, regularly using his feet to the spinners and slog-sweeping Dean Foxcroft for six. He survived a blow to the helmet from a McKay bouncer, which needed a concussion check, and went to his hundred off 119 balls with another slog-sweep for six over cow corner.

He kept going after that, hitting 15 fours and five sixes in all, while Rathod, who had made only 13 in the first innings, reached his fifty off 63 balls. India A scored 237 runs in the 40 overs between the restart and Tea. In the third session, Rathod resumed on 95 and reached his hundred off the fourth ball, at which point the match was called off on a pitch that hadn’t deteriorated enough for India A to declare and force a result.

Earlier in the match, Matthew Boyle’s 110 and Foxcroft’s 93 had taken New Zealand A to 424 in reply to India A’s 346, built around Dhruv Jurel’s 105. Mukesh Kumar took 5 for 87 and Mohammed Siraj 4 for 118.

Brief scores: India A 346 & 282/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 155*, Yash Rathod 100*; Brett Randell 1-62, Jarrod McKay 1-35) drew with New Zealand A 424