Harsha Bhogle slams India's 'bland, heartless' pitches after Dhruv Jurel-led IND-A collapses in New Zealand originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- India A were dismissed for just 113 against New Zealand A on a lively Lincoln pitch, with several Test regulars failing.
- New Zealand A openers Rhys Mariu and Curtis Heaphy put on 131 before the Indian seamers finally struck back late in the day.
- Harsha Bhogle argued that the collapse shows why Indian batters need exposure to varied surfaces rather than the flat tracks made for T20 cricket.
India A 113 all out: Harsha Bhogle reacts to New Zealand collapse, questions pitch preparation back at home
Harsha Bhogle has strongly criticised the “bland, heartless” pitches used in Indian cricket after a star-studded India A batting line-up folded for 113 on a testing opening day in Lincoln.
The first four-day unofficial Test against New Zealand A on Saturday was meant to be a useful warm-up for the senior players, but it turned into a harsh reminder of how demanding conditions in the country can be.
India’s top order carried plenty of Test experience into this contest, yet almost none of it counted for much on a surface that offered help to the bowlers.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan and captain Dhruv Jurel all found run-scoring difficult, and the side was bowled out in only 39.3 overs. The home team then reached 135/3 in 41 overs by the close of play, leaving the visitors well behind in the contest.
The toss had already worked in the hosts’ favour. Mariu chose to field, having read the bowling-friendly conditions correctly, and Rahul fell for a duck to the seamer Fraser Sheat before the innings had settled. Jaiswal then tried to hold one end together alongside Padikkal, who came in at No.3, but Zak Gibson removed him for 17 off 45 balls.
India A fully up against it in their warm up match prior the Test Series in New Zealand They sit at 54/4 with some great bowling by Keene to dismiss the Indian Batsman Padikkal the only player to really get going for India currently 32* off 75 balls A sign of things to come for India in the upcoming weeks?
— JN Sport (@JNSports1) October 24, 2026
The most damaging spell came from the right-arm pacer Simon Keene, who finished with figures of 5/24. Sudharsan, who is competing with Padikkal for the No.3 position in the Test side, was bowled by him without scoring.
Jurel followed soon after as Keene’s second victim, and the wicketkeeper-batter managed only a single run, which left the visiting captain with little to build on.
Padikkal was the one batter who looked comfortable, and he seemed set for a substantial score before Gibson returned to dismiss him for 32 off 77 balls, an innings that included five boundaries.
Things could have looked a lot worse but for Yash Rathod, who came in at No.6 and played freely for an unbeaten 44 from 49 balls. He struck three fours and three sixes, and his lower-order counterparts did not offer much support, since Washington Sundar and Akash Deep were both dismissed for ducks and Anshul Kamboj added 10. Rathod’s effort was largely the reason the total crossed the 100 mark.
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Indian seamers struggle as Rhys Mariu and Curtis Heaphy build a 131-run opening stand
The bowlers were expected to respond strongly, and the group of Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary and Aquib Nabi had a chance to show what they could do on the same surface.
For a long time, however, they could not make a dent. Mariu and Heaphy batted with confidence and put together 131 for the first wicket, which left India A with a deficit they could hardly have imagined at the start.
Mariu looked on course for a hundred before Choudhary trapped him leg before for 76. Nabi then struck twice in successive deliveries, and both dismissals were leg-before decisions, which gave the visitors a brief lift.
Heaphy, on 37, and Matthew Boyle, on 0, were the not-out batters when stumps were called.
'Pitches don't test batters at home': Harsha Bhogle weighs in on India A's 113-run collapse against New Zealand A
Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle felt the result said less about the individual batters and more about the surfaces on which they usually play.
He wrote on X: "A very good India A side bowled out for 113 and a good bowling line-up being countered easily by New Zealand A. The very reason why home and away cricket is important and why you must learn to play on different surfaces rather than on the same, bland, heartless pitches we think are good for T20 cricket.”
A very good India A side bowled out for 113 and a good bowling line-up being countered easily by New Zealand A. The very reason why home and away cricket is important and why you must learn to play on different surfaces rather than on the same, bland, heartless pitches we think are good for T20 cricket.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 24, 2026
India A will play two more unofficial Tests on this tour, and the squad will use them to get valuable practice and adjust to the conditions.
The senior team’s two-Test series begins on November 19 at Wellington, so the time available for the Test-squad members to find some rhythm is not long.
India A collapse sends an early warning sign to Gautam Gambhir & Co.
Rahul, Jaiswal, Sudharsan and Padikkal are all in the conversation for Test spots.
They have now seen how quickly a good-looking batting order can come apart when the ball seams and bounces. That is a lesson best learned in Lincoln and not in Wellington.
Bhogle’s wider point is also hard to argue with. Indian domestic and white-ball cricket has leaned heavily on pitches that reward stroke-play and give bowlers little to work with, and batters raised on those tracks often need time to rebuild their defence overseas.
The same applies to bowlers, who found nothing special in the conditions for a long stretch of the afternoon.
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