KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jaiswal fall cheaply as India A struggle against New Zealand A in Lincoln

Early wickets for New Zealand A in Lincoln

New Zealand A won the toss and elected to bowl in the opening four-day unofficial Test against India A at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, and the decision appeared to be paying off early. KL Rahul failed to make an impact, falling for a duck after facing eight balls.

Fraser Sheat struck the first blow, dismissing Rahul with a catch behind the stumps. The delivery was pitched up around off-stump and swung away. Rahul went for an expansive drive away from his body without much foot movement and edged it to wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay, who took a safe catch.

Squads and the wider tour

India A are led by wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Sai Sudharsan and pacers Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj and Mukesh Kumar are among the prominent names. Rishabh Pant will miss the match as he continues his recovery at the BCCI Centre of Excellence after suffering a left-side strain while leading Rest of India in the Irani Cup. Kumar Kushagra replaced him in the squad for the first two matches, and a decision on Pant's availability for the third match will be taken later.

New Zealand named an extended 19-member squad featuring 11 current and former international players for the three four-day matches. Canterbury's Rhys Mariu will captain the team in the first two matches, with the captain for the third game to be announced later. The squad includes Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Dean Foxcroft, Matt Fisher, Mitch Hay, Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Henry Nicholls and Tim Robinson.

Preparation ahead of the Test series

The unofficial Tests give players valuable exposure to local conditions ahead of India's World Test Championship assignment, which begins on November 19 in Wellington. The second unofficial Test is scheduled in Christchurch from October 31 to November 3, and the third in Lincoln from November 7 to 10. The schedule could affect the availability of some senior players for the entire India A series. India's three-match ODI series against New Zealand begins on November 4.

India senior team's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak highlighted the importance of the matches. "There is a lot of importance of India A series. Because, a lot of Test players, a lot of fringe players, those who are waiting for their opportunity, it is also very good for them.

"And, before the Test series, see, even the senior players, somewhere or the other, the match practice of the red ball is very important. So, all in all, the setup that has been done, which the BCCI has kept with the India A Series, will definitely help the team," Kotak told reporters.

Akash Deep, who is also part of India's Test squad, will look to build his rhythm and match fitness during the series.