Marcus Harris believes he is better equipped than ever to handle a potential Test call-up after shining with the kind of grinding innings Australia will covet from their top-order when they begin their Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign against India.

On an MCG surface that continued to offer considerable lateral movement for seamers on day two, Harris held India A at bay for four-and-a-half hours to post a dogged 74 that underpinned Australia A’s first-innings effort of 223.

By stumps, India A had turned a 61-run deficit into an 11-run lead but not before losing half of their second-innings wickets. KL Rahul was among them after the 53-Test batter somehow failed to offer a shot to Corey Rocchiccioli’s first ball and was bowled between his legs.

Nathan McAndrew (2-22) and Beau Webster (2-14) turned it into a 13-wicket day as the visitors limped to 5-73, now needing a day-three rearguard to avoid defeat.

Harris, one of the main contenders to partner Usman Khawaja against India, hardly got an inch from India A’s impressive pace contingent.

The 32-year-old’s weathering of Prasidh Krishna (4-50), Mukesh Kumar (3-41) and Khaleel Ahmed (2-56), all of whom will remain in Australia as part of India’s travelling group for the Test series, will be food for thought for national selectors.

Having pounded a pair of crisp off-drives for fours the previous evening, Harris found the rope just once from the 96 balls he faced on Friday. He credited advice from his Victoria coach Chris Rogers, the former Test opener, for handling the lack of boundaries.

“It was probably something that ‘Bucky’ (Rogers) said … to the whole batting group at Victoria, just about if the wicket’s doing a little bit, you don’t always have to look to hit it for four. Look to hit it for two,” said Harris.

“It’s just something simple that resonated with me a little bit. Sometimes you come out and smack boundaries. Then days like today, I think I hit one four.

“I’ve definitely been able to tick the scoreboard over a lot more than what I have (in the past), and maybe that’s just subconsciously not looking to hit the ball so hard.”

Only Jimmy Peirson, who scored 30 from 70 while putting on 58 for the sixth wicket with Harris, faced more than half the deliveries Harris lasted for (138). He finally hung the bat out to Prasidh, one of the right-armer’s four wickets, to be caught behind in the final session.  

Nathan McSweeney, who opened with Harris but fell for 14 the previous evening, appears the other leading candidate for the Test opening spot.

Harris’ ability to see off the new ball and lay a platform for stroke-makers further down the order is the kind of skill set that could be appealing for a Test middle-order that features star men Steve Smith and Travis Head at four and five.

“I think a lot of the times when you do well on wickets like that you actually spend a lot of time down the other end,” said Harris.

“I think I got a bit fortunate with that. Today I think I batted for 50 overs and I might have only faced half the balls.”

Harris has the advantage of having played two Tests at Optus Stadium previously and knows the intricacies of the west’s extra bounce having grown up in Perth before he relocated to play for Victoria.

McSweeney on the other hand has never played at the newer Perth ground, though he has turned out at the WACA Ground three times in the Sheffield Shield. He also has a superior record to Harris at Adelaide Oval, the venue for the second Test, where he averages 43.

Harris has worked on his mental approach over recent months, admitting he has previously gotten sidetracked by the extra attention that comes with being on the fringes of the Test team.

“Externally, this game was getting built up a lot, which is fair enough,” said the 14-Test opener, who started his Sheffield Shield season with a century at the Junction Oval against Tasmania.

“I feel like I’ve been batting well, but so have lots of other people. If I get called upon I feel like I’m ready to go, and if I don’t, then so be it. I feel pretty well equipped.

“I think if I was in this position 12 months ago, I probably wouldn’t have been able to perform the way I have at the start of this season. My results last year probably said that. So I’ve been proud of that.

“This time I’ve probably embraced it a little bit more than what I have before. I think in the past I’ve probably tried to really avoid it and built it up, whereas this time, I’ve probably just taken it as it’s come at me and accepted for what it is.”

The only notable hiccup in Harris’ resistance was the theatrics of Tanush Kotian when the off-spinner was convinced the batter had edged to slip, rather than deflecting off his pad. Kotian all but said as much to Mike Graham-Smith after the umpire made what appeared a sound decision.

“The boys said they watched the replays 20 times and couldn’t really tell (if it was out),” said Harris. “The god’s honest truth was I wasn’t sure. If they reviewed and (showed) I hit it and got caught, I would have gone, ‘yep, fair enough’.”

India’s three main quicks all struck within the first hour of play on Friday, as Sam Konstas (lbw for 3), Ollie Davies (caught at mid-on for 13) and Webster (caught second slip for 5) left the hosts in a hole at 5-84, still trailing by 77.

While Harris and Peirson took the hosts past India A’s first-innings score of 161, it was the last-wicket pair of Rocchiccioli (35 off 28) and McAndrew (26no from 36) that got them a meaningful advantage in an entertaining 56-run last-wicket stand.

Prasidh, Mukesh and Khaleel accounted for the entire Australia A batting line-up, with Michael Neser unable to bat due to the hamstring strain he suffered on day one. Neser had already returned to Brisbane by Friday evening.

Mukesh and Khaleel are travelling reserves for India for the Test campaign, while Prasidh is in the main squad. On the strength of their efforts here, none would look out of place if called on in the coming weeks.

Australia A v India A series

Australia A squad: Nathan McSweeney (c), Cameron Bancroft, Scott Boland, Jordan Buckingham, Cooper Connolly, Ollie Davies, Brendan Doggett, Marcus Harris, Sam Konstas, Nathan McAndrew, Michael Neser, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Jimmy Peirson, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Beau Webster

India A squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (wk), Abishek Porel (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (wk)

First first-class match: Australia A won by seven wickets

Second first-class match: November 7-10: MCG, Melbourne (10.30am AEDT)

India intra-squad match abandoned in lieu of centre-wicket practice and match simulation sessions