Harsh Dubey claimed three wickets to lead India A’s fightback after young opener Sam Konstas dominated the early exchanges with a brisk 109, guiding Australia A to 337/5 on the opening day of their first unofficial Test here on Tuesday.
Konstas, who made a fiery Test debut against India last Australian summer, cracked 10 fours and three sixes in his century, making the most of the conditions on offer until Ranji Trophy record holder Dubey cleaned him up.
India A and their Australian counterparts will face off in two four-day unofficial Tests here before heading to Kanpur for a three-match one-day affair.
The 19-year-old Konstas added 198 runs for the opening stand with Campbell Kellaway (88) as the two put the India A bowlers, including Test pacer Prasidh Krishna, to the sword at the Ekana Stadium.
But until they were separated, Konstas and Kellaway, who hit 10 fours and two sixes, had thwarted the challenge thrown by the India A bowlers to add nearly 200 runs in 37.1 overs.
Their partnership was separated when Kellaway was caught by Tanush Kotian off Gurnoor Brar but Konstas certainly scored some early points on this tour as his challenger for Australia opening slot, Nathan McSweeney, fell soon after at No. 3.
Dubey had the right-handed McSweeney trapped leg-before for one giving India A their second breakthrough, and the Shreyas Iyer-led side struck twice again to gain the upper hand in the middle overs.
Konstas was the next to go, falling to Dubey while Khalil Ahmed pinned Oliver Peake in front of the stumps to leave Australia in a spot of bother at 224/4.
However, this was the time when one-Test old Cooper Connolly and Liam Scott got together to stem the fall of wickets, putting on 109 runs for the fifth wicket.
It was Dubey again who provided India A with a much-needed breakthrough, ending the fifth-wicket stand when he had Connolly caught by Devdutt Padikkal for 70 off 84 balls with 12 fours and a six.
For India A, while Dubey was the pick among bowlers, Gurnoor and Khaleel claimed one wicket each but Prasidh remained wicket-less while giving away 47 runs in his 11 overs.
Brief scores: Australia A 337/5 in 73 overs (Sam Konstas 109, Campbell Kellaway 88, Cooper Connolly 70, Liam Scott 47 not out; Harsh Dubey 3/88, Khalil Ahmed 1/46, Gurnoor Brar 1/47) vs India A.
