Rain had the final say at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln on Monday, with not a single ball bowled on the third day of the final four-day match.
Umpires waited through the day before calling play off at 4:38 PM local time, leaving New Zealand A on 36 for 2, still 428 behind India A’s 464 for 5 declared. Play will start half an hour early on the final day, at 10:30 AM local time, weather permitting, but with only one day left, a draw now looks the likeliest outcome.
The washout was particularly frustrating for Jasprit Bumrah. The India spearhead is using this match to rebuild his red-ball rhythm after almost a year away from first-class cricket, and the plan had been for him to bowl more overs on Monday after a six-over spell on Sunday. Instead, only the final day remains for him to add to his 6-1-11-0.
Bumrah’s return has been the story of this match. He is playing his first first-class game since the Guwahati Test against South Africa in November 2025, having missed the tour of Sri Lanka in August and three Tests since with a knee injury. On Sunday he began with a maiden and drew a leg-before appeal. Prasidh Krishna, also back from injury, looked the more threatening of the two, taking both wickets with fuller balls that nipped back in.
There was at least one bright moment on the sidelines. Former India coach John Wright, who first spotted Bumrah in a domestic match in 2013 and helped open the doors to his IPL career, spent more than two hours at the ground and called the fast bowler “the ultimate difference-maker” ahead of the Test series.
India A had set the game up on the first two days. Jaiswal’s 102 led the way, Sudharsan made 88, and Jurel, Tilak and Washington all made fifties as the visitors piled up 464 for 5 before declaring on Sunday. Prasidh then removed both openers, bowling Mariu and trapping Heaphy leg-before, to leave the hosts at 36 for 2.
New Zealand A’s problems run deeper than the scoreboard. Their attack has been ravaged by injury: Jarrod McKay did not bowl at all because of a side strain, and Danru Ferns left the field mid-over with a back injury. Part-time offspinner Dean Foxcroft ended up bowling 30 overs, with Tim Robinson and Matthew Boyle also pressed into service.
The Test series begins in Wellington on November 19, and Bumrah’s workload in Lincoln was meant to be the final tune-up. One day remains, and India A will hope the weather relents long enough for their attack — and especially Bumrah — to get the overs they came for.
Related:
Jurel, Tilak and Washington Fifties Power India A to 464 as New Zealand A Trail by 428 in Lincoln
India Edge New Zealand by Four Runs on DLS After Rain Ends Wellington ODI
