Australia A recovered from a perilous 16/3 to close the opening day of the second unofficial Test against India A at 282/7 in Puducherry, with Sam Harper leading a superb fightback with an unbeaten 101.
Harper, playing his first innings of the tour, reached his century off 146 balls and remained unbeaten on 101 from 153 deliveries, with seven fours and three sixes. He added a crucial 89 with Todd Murphy for the seventh wicket before Murphy fell for 33 moments before the end of day’s play.
The turnaround was particularly striking given how quickly the visitors had been reduced to three down. After opting to bat, Josh Philippe, having moved up the order, fell for 5 in the eighth over. Sam Konstas followed in the next over while captain Peter Handscomb was dismissed for a 15-ball duck. Nachiket Bhute accounted for Philippe and Handscomb after Anshul Kamboj produced a fine opening spell.
Jason Sangha and Nathan McSweeney then provided some stability. The pair added 81 for the fourth wicket before Sangha was caught excellently behind the stumps by Kumar Kushagra for 46. McSweeney’s resistance ended soon after when he was dismissed by Mulani for 34, leaving Australia A at 104/5.
Liam Scott and Harper led another fight. They put together 84 for the sixth wicket, with Scott contributing 34 off 82 balls before becoming Nachiket Bhute’s third scalp of the day. If the hosts had any hopes of polishing off the tail thereafter, another strong partnership undid them. Harper accelerated as the innings progressed, bringing up his century in the final session and providing the defining moment of Australia’s recovery. Murphy, who played a patient 91-ball 33, was eventually bowled by Kamboj. But Harper underscored his burgeoning credentials by carrying his bat through to stumps.
For India A, Bhute was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets apiece. Mulani was particularly influential in the early exchanges, but his figures of 3/77 from 28 overs also reflected a costly problem for the hosts: he bowled 14 no-balls in India A’s worrying tally of 21 foot faults on the opening day.
Brief scores: Australia A 282/7 (Sam Harper 101*, Jason Sangha 46; Nachiket Bhute 3-35, Shams Mulani 3-77) vs India A
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