Sinclair, Papps and McMillan enjoy good outing

New Zealand A 4 for 257 (Sinclair 76, Papps 69, McMillan 62*) v India A
Scorecard

Half-centuries by Michael Papps, Mathew Sinclair and Craig McMillan took New Zealand A to a reasonable position at the end of the first day of their four-day match against India A at the Gardens Oval in Darwin. The bowlers managed to keep the runs in check, restricting the scoring rate to less than three an over as New Zealand ended at 4 for 257.

After winning the toss, the New Zealanders suffered an early setback as Matthew Bell was dismissed by Siddharth Trivedi for 1. Sinclair joined Papps and the two added 148 for the second wicket. Piyush Chawla, the legspinner, then dismissed both batsmen in quick succession, leaving New Zealand at 3 for 157. Craig McMillan, the captain, and Rob Nicol settled down to add 83 for the fourth wicket, till Nicol was run out for 36. McMillan remained undefeated on 62 at the close of play. For India, Chawla was the most effective bowler, taking 2 for 56 off 28 overs. Rudra Pratap Singh, the left-arm seamer, bowled economically, giving away only 41 runs off his 19 overs with nine maidens.