Marcus Harris solidifies credentials on day of carnage at MCG as wickets kept tumbling on an eventful second day.
Marcus Harris boosted his chances of a Test recall with a gritty 74, while Prasidh Krishna continued his impressive tour with four wickets. KL Rahul failed again as wickets continued to tumble on a second day dominated by Australia A at the MCG.
Harris kept Australia A’s innings together through two rain delays before key contributions from Jimmy Peirson, Nathan McAndrew, and Corey Rocchiccioli helped them record a critical 62-run first innings lead, despite Prasidh collecting 4 for 50 and Mukesh Kumar getting 3 for 41 in excellent stints respectively.
India A then lost five wickets for 73, behind by just 11 at stumps, with McAndrew and Beau Webster inflicting the damage in the absence of Michael Neser, who has rushed home to recover his damaged left hamstring. Rahul escaped against the quicks but was bowled off his inner thigh by Rocchiccioli’s offspin for 10 runs.
Harris’ innings became increasingly spectacular as the day progressed. The 32-year-old had been seen as the main prospect for Australia’s vacant Test opener position, but he has yet to consolidate his case following a string of starts in his previous four innings, despite scoring 143 and 52 in the first Sheffield Shield game of the summer.
However, on a challenging MCG pitch where only one other player has exceeded 35 so far, Harris demonstrated why he is still highly regarded by Australia’s selectors by scoring a patient 74 to give Australia A a crucial first innings lead. The innings was similar to his last Test half-century in December 2021, when he hit a match-winning 76 in a game when one other player reached 38 and Scott Boland got 6 for 7.
Marcus Harris began the day unbeaten on 26 after witnessing fellow Test contenders Nathan McSweeney and Cameron Bancroft fall cheaply on the first night, then watched from the non-striker’s end as Sam Konstas, Ollie Davies and Webster all went cheaply.
Left-armer Khaleel Ahmed trapped Konstas plumb LBW from around the wicket. Davies came and went for a quick 13, losing his wicket to Krishna by holing out to midwicket and attempting to smash him over wide on from a good length.
India A’s second innings began firmly against the new ball, despite the fact that the pitch still provided enough of opportunities for seamers. They got to 25 without losing before Abhimanyu Easwaran sliced a catch to the gully off McAndrew. That precipitated a meltdown in which India A lost 5 for 31.
Sai Sudharsan edged Webster to second slip, where Bancroft made a brilliant low grab. Ruturaj Gaikwad appeared in terrific form before missing a delivery from McAndrew that sneaked in and thundered into his pad. The umpire awarded him lbw. The queue was not an issue, although Gaikwad may have been concerned about the height as he halted before leaving.
Rahul had only himself to blame. Rocchiccioli’s opening ball of the day was a simple off break that went down leg. Rahul was unable to play a shot because of a short leg. However, he did not have his pads together when he attempted to kick it away. It slipped through the small crevice between his thighs and ricocheted onto the stumps. Rahul’s match figures of 4 and 10 were not what India’s selectors had hoped for after sending him to participate in this game ahead of a potential recall in the first Test in Perth as a replacement for Rohit Sharma.
It was left to Jurel again to hold the innings together as he and Reddy saw India A to stumps.