India A 73 for 5 (Jurel 19*, Webster 2-14, McAndrew 2-22) lead Australia A 223 (Harris 74, Prasidh 4-50, Mukesh 3-41) by 11 runs
Marcus Harris boosted his chances of a Test recall with a gritty 74, while Prasidh Krishna continued his impressive tour with four wickets and KL Rahul failed again as wickets continued to tumble on a second day dominated by Australia A at the MCG.
Harris held Australia A's innings together through two rain delays before valuable contributions from Jimmy Peirson, Nathan McAndrew and Corey Rocchiccioli helped them post a crucial 62-run first innings lead despite Prasidh taking 4 for 50 and Mukesh Kumar bagging 3 for 41 in impressive spells.
India A then lost five wickets for 73, to lead by just 11 at stumps, with McAndrew and Beau Webster doing the damage in the absence of Michael Neser who has flown home to rehabilitate his strained left hamstring. Rahul survived against the quicks but fell in bizarre fashion for just 10 to the offspin of Rocchiccioli as he tried to pad away a ball going down leg and was bowled off his inner thigh.
Harris' innings became more and more impressive the longer the day went. The 32-year-old has been arguably the leading candidate for Australia's vacant Test opener's spot but had not been able to solidify his case following a series of starts in his previous four innings after scoring 143 and 52 in the first Sheffield Shield game of the summer.
But on a difficult MCG pitch, where only one other player in the game has passed 35 so far, Harris showed why he remains highly regarded by Australia's selectors with a patient 74 to give Australia A a vital first innings lead. The innings was reminiscent of his last Test half-century in December 2021, when he made a match-winning 76 in a game where one other player passed 38 and Scott Boland took 6 for 7.
Having begun the day unbeaten on 26 after seeing fellow Test contender Nathan McSweeney and Cameron Bancroft fall cheaply on the opening night, Harris watched from the non-striker's end as Sam Konstas, Ollie Davies and Webster all fell cheaply.
Left-armer Khaleel Ahmed pinned Konstas plumb lbw from around the wicket. Davies came and went for a brisk 13, gifting his wicket to Krishna by holing out to midwicket, trying to heave him over wide on from a good length.
Webster nicked Mukesh to second slip to leave Australia A in deep trouble at 84 for 5. But Harris remained resolute alongside Peirson. The pair had to sit through two lengthy rain delays that had the potential to break their concentration.
Harris was compact, playing well under his eyeline with control. He did not try and over-hit the ball and only scored one boundary on the second day, having struck four on the opening night.
He did have plenty of good fortune. After nicking one on the first evening that landed short of wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, he survived a huge appeal off Tanush Kotian. Bowling from around the wicket, the offspinner pitched one outside leg and Harris closed the face to try and work it leg side. The ball deflected to slip and India A were convinced it came off the bat but umpire Michael Graham-Smith remained unmoved. The umpire believed it deflected off pad only and Harris gestured as much when the India A players stood around him bewildered by the decision.
He picked up his scoring shortly after reaching 50, with Nitish Kumar Reddy not quite as frugal as the other three quicks with his lengths and lines.
Peirson also played with positivity, striking five boundaries in his 30 including a brilliant reverse sweep against the offspinner. But Krishna returned to break the partnership and continue his impressive tour. He had Peirson caught behind off the bottom edge as he tried to pull a back of a length ball from outside off.
Shortly after, Harris sparred at one he shouldn't have, pushing well away from his body to edge behind. His detractors will note it was another example of his propensity for making starts without kicking onto big scores but undoubtedly the selectors will hold this 74 as worthy of a three-figure score giving how difficult batting has been.
Krishna was on a hat-trick when Boland nicked the next ball to slip to leave Australia A eight down with a lead of just six runs and without Neser able to bat after injuring his hamstring on day one.
But Rocchiccioli and McAndrew produced a brilliant and entertaining 56-run last wicket stand in less than nine overs that could prove the difference in the game.
Rocchiccioli, clearly stung by batting below Boland in the line-up, played some outrageous shots in his 28-ball 35. He shovelled a ball over the keeper's head and he launched two massive sixes off Krishna and Kotian. McAndrew played nicely too, adding an unbeaten 26 before Rocchiccioli finally nicked one to hand Mukesh his third for the innings.
India A's second started solidly against the new ball despite the pitch still offering plenty for the seamers. They reached 25 without loss before Abhimanyu Easwaran sliced a catch to the gully off McAndrew. That set in motion a collapse where India A lost 5 for 31.
Sai Sudharsan edged Webster to second slip where Bancroft held an excellent low catch. Ruturaj Gaikwad looked in good touch before missing a delivery from McAndrew that nipped in and thundered into his pad. The umpire gave him lbw. The line was not an issue but Gaikwad might have wondered about the height as he paused before departing.
Rahul had no one to blame but himself. Rocchiccioli's first ball of the day was an innocuous off break that was going down leg. There was a short leg in place which caused Rahul to withdraw from playing a shot. But he did not have his pads together as he tried to kick it away. It sneaked through the small gap in his thighs and ricocheted onto the stumps. Rahul's returns of 4 and 10 for the match were not what India's selectors would have hoped for having sent him to play in this game ahead of a possible recall in the first Test in Perth as a replacement for Rohit Sharma.
Webster struck again in the shadows as Devdutt Padikkal's 19-ball stay ended with just one run when he nicked the allrounder to first slip.
It was left to Jurel again to hold the innings together as he and Reddy saw India A to stumps.
