India A 73 of 5 (Mackerel 19*, Webster 2-14, McAndrew 2-22) advantage Australia A 223 (Harris 74, Prasidh 4-50, Mukesh 3-41) by 11 runs
Harris’ innings became more and more impressive as the day went on. The 32-year-old has arguably been the leading candidate for Australia’s vacant Test opener’s spot but had failed to solidify his case following a string of starts in his previous four innings after scoring 143 and 52 in the first Sheffield Shield game of the summer.
Having started the day unbeaten on the 26th after seeing fellow Test contenders Nathan McSweeney and Cameron Bancroft go down narrowly on the opening night, Harris watched from the non-striker’s side as Sam Konstas, Ollie Davies and Webster fell for little money.
Left-arm spinner Khaleel Ahmed pinned Konstas from around the wicket. Davies went back and forth for a spirited 13, gifting his wicket to Krishna by holing out to mid-wicket, trying to bowl it from a good length.
Webster edged Mukesh at second slip to leave Australia A in deep trouble at 84 for 5. But Harris remained resolute alongside Peirson. The couple had to endure two long rain delays that had the potential to break their concentration.
Harris was compact and played well under his line of sight with control. He didn’t try to hit the ball much and only scored one goal on the second day, after having hit four on opening night.
He had a lot of good luck. After stealing one on the first night that missed goalkeeper Dhruv Jurel, he survived a big appeal against Tanush Kotian. Bowling from around the wicket, the bowler bowled outside leg and Harris closed the face to try and work the leg. The ball deflected and skidded and India A were convinced it came off the bat, but umpire Michael Graham-Smith remained unmoved. The umpire believed he just veered off the pad and Harris gestured to that effect as India A players surrounded him, bewildered by the decision.
He recovered his score soon after reaching 50, and Nitish Kumar Reddy was not as frugal as the other three quicks with his lengths and lines.
Peirson also played with positivity, hitting five boundaries in his 30, including a brilliant reverse sweep against the off-spinner. But Krishna again broke the partnership and continued his impressive tour. He had Peirson trapped behind the bottom edge as he attempted to get the back of a long ball outside off.
Shortly after, Harris faced one he shouldn’t have, moving well away from his body to fall behind. His detractors will note that it was another example of his propensity to make starts without scoring big, but no doubt the selectors will regard this 74 as worthy of a three-figure score considering how difficult the batting has been.
But Rocchiccioli and McAndrew produced a brilliant and entertaining last stand of 56 runs in less than nine overs that could make the difference in the game.
Rocchiccioli, clearly affected by batting below Boland in the order, played some outrageous shots in his 28-ball 35. He lofted a ball over the keeper’s head and hit two huge sixes against Krishna and Kotian. McAndrew also played very well, making an unbeaten 26 before Rocchiccioli finally scored one to hand Mukesh his third of the innings.
India A’s second started solidly against the new ball even though the pitch still offered plenty for the seamers. They reached 25 without loss before Abhimanyu Easwaran clipped a catch at McAndrew gully. That set in motion a collapse in which India A lost 5 for 31.
Sai Sudharsan edged Webster at second slip, where Bancroft took an excellent low catch. Ruturaj Gaikwad looked to be in good contact before missing a delivery from McAndrew that came in and hit his pad. The referee gave him lbw. The line wasn’t a problem, but Gaikwad might have wondered about the height when he paused before leaving.
Rahul had no one to blame except himself. Rocchiccioli’s first ball of the day was a harmless counterattack that went down the leg. There was a short leg in place which made Rahul retreat from taking a shot. But his pads weren’t together when he tried to kick him away. It slipped through the small gap in his thighs and bounced off the stumps. Rahul’s scores of 4 and 10 for the match were not what the Indian selectors would have expected when sending him to play in this game ahead of a possible withdrawal in the first Test in Perth as a replacement for Rohit Sharma.
Webster struck in the shadows again as Devdutt Padikkal’s 19-ball stay ended with just one run when he clipped the all-rounder at first slip.
It was again up to Jurel to keep the innings together as he and Reddy left India A on their stumps.
Alex Malcolm is associate editor of ESPNcricinfo
