Australia A were 16 for 3, and Sam Harper made a hundred in his first game for them
The Victoria wicketkeeper came in at 104 for 5 in Puducherry and was 101 not out at stumps, with Australia A on 282 for 7 against India A.
Sep 29, 2026
Australia A were 16 for 3 inside 12 overs in Puducherry on Tuesday, with Sam Konstas and captain Peter Handscomb both gone for two runs between them. By stumps they were 282 for 7, and the wicketkeeper playing his first game for them was 101 not out.
Sam Harper only came into the side for this second four-day match, one of three changes after India A won the first by 162 runs at the same ground last week. He batted at seven, arrived at 104 for 5, and spent the rest of the day making sure Australia did not fold the way they had in the first game.
Three down before the first drinks break
Handscomb won the toss and batted. It went wrong quickly. Nachiket Bhute, brought in for Praful Hinge, had Josh Philippe caught by Devdutt Padikkal in the eighth over, and Shams Mulani removed Konstas in the next over, caught by Tanush Kotian for 2 from 25 balls. Bhute then had Handscomb caught behind by Kumar Kushagra for a 15-ball duck. Three wickets had gone for 16 runs.
Handscomb’s duck is the one Australia will notice. He is 35, has not played for his country since the 2023 Border-Gavaskar tour, and cricket.com.au wrote in August that his way back into the Test side probably runs through next year’s tour of India.
Nathan McSweeney and Jason Sangha repaired some of it with a stand of 81. Sangha was the busier of the two, with 46 from 75 balls and six fours, before Mulani had him caught behind in the 33rd over. McSweeney made 34 from 76 and fell to Mulani two overs later, caught by Shaik Rasheed.
Harper’s first Australia A innings
Harper has earned this chance on runs. He made 677 runs for Victoria in the 2025-26 Sheffield Shield after being moved up to open, and both of his hundreds came in one match, against Western Australia at the WACA in February. Here he was back at seven, and he batted like a man who liked the freedom.
He and Liam Scott added 84 for the sixth wicket before Bhute took his third, Scott caught by Padikkal for 34. Harper reached 50 from 65 balls, survived two India A reviews that went against the bowling side in the evening session, and put on 89 with Todd Murphy. Murphy made 33 before Anshul Kamboj bowled him in the first over with the second new ball.
Harper got to his hundred from 146 balls with seven fours and three sixes, and Jhye Richardson saw out the last few deliveries with him.
India A’s no-ball problem
Mulani took 3 for 77 from 28 overs and Bhute 3 for 35 from 11, but the two of them also sent down 21 no-balls between them, 14 from Mulani. That made up most of the 27 extras. Kamboj was the tidiest of the lot, conceding 19 runs in 12 overs.
India A lead the two-match series 1-0 and need only a draw to take it. Day two starts at 9.30am on Wednesday.