India [ Images ] 'A' survived a scare before pulling off a thrilling three-wicket victory over New Zealand [ Images ] 'A' in a four-day match of the Top-End cricket series in Darwin on Friday.

Chasing 206 for victory on the fourth and final day, the Indians were reduced to a precarious 44 for 4 before S Badrinath (76) and Tejinder Pal Singh (46) put on a 94-run partnership for the fifth wicket to stem the rot.

However, both lost their wickets in quick succession, leaving India needing 31 more runs with just three tail-enders to bat.

Rohit Sharma [ Images ] (22) and Piyush Chawla [ Images ] (26) then stood to the task at hand, steering the team to victory in 68.4 overs.

New Zealand's Jeetan Patel [ Images ] accounted for three wickets, including that of prolific opener Shikhar Dhawan [ Images ] (15), while C S Martin, H K Bennett and M G Orchard picked one apiece.

India 'A', who had conceded a 52-run first innings lead to New Zealand after making 280 in their first essay, were off to a disastrous start, losing both the openers with just 20 runs on the board.

Cheteshwar Pujara [ Images ] was run-out for 2 while Dhawan was trapped leg before by Patel. More shocks were in store for the Indians, as Robin Uthappa [ Images ] (9) and skipper Parthiv Patel [ Images ] (8) were dismissed cheaply in the face of some spirited bowling.

In another outing between Australia [ Images ] 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Shane Watson [ Images ] scored an unbeaten 63, following his first innings of 161 not out, as the four-day match ended in a draw.

Australia 'A' declared their second innings at 165 for six, setting Pakistan 'A' a winning target of 245.

Pakistan reached 145 for 4 from 30 overs before stumps were drawn half an hour early.