Redmond, Guptill put New Zealand A on top

A solid start by the openers ensured New Zealand A were in a commanding position on the opening day of the second Test against India A, scoring 270 for 3. Having won the toss and elected to bat, Aaron Redmond and Martin Guptill put on 190 for the opening wicket, as the Indian bowlers struggled to make inroads.

Redmond carried his form from the first Test, scoring 105 in an innings which included 12 fours and a six while Guptill was the perfect foil with 80.

The Indian bowlers toiled hard without any success for most part of the day. Suresh Raina, the captain, used six bowlers, but only two of them were successful. The one bright passage of play for India was after tea, when legspinner Amit Mishra struck a double blow, dismissing Guptill and captain Peter Fulton (5) in successive overs. Guptill was caught at deep midwicket by Cheteshwar Pujara while Fulton was caught behind.

Redmond reached his century with a six over midwicket off Ravindra Jadeja but was stuck on 105 for more than four overs before he was bowled by RP Singh. The Indians had one further chance, but Raina spilled an easy catch at slip off Jadeja to reprieve Greg Hay on 33. By close of play, Hay had moved on to 44 and had added 41 for the fourth wicket with James Marshall, who was unbeaten on 21.

The match is also an opportunity for Sourav Ganguly to get some practice before the first Test against Australia, but on the opening day he had little to do, standing in the slips through the first couple of hours. He was off the field for most of the post-lunch session, and spent the last one hour fielding in the deep.