Test hope Harris top-scores as Australia A close on win

A more relaxed Marcus Harris is at ease with whatever Australia's selectors decide for him on the eve of the first Test team announcement.

The left-handed opener was the one Australia A top-order candidate to nail his final audition at the MCG, top-scoring with 74 as his side closed in on a win against India A.

The tourists only lead by 11 with five wickets remaining in their second innings, with the Test squad to be named soon after the match ends - most likely with a home win early on Saturday afternoon.

"Externally, obviously this game was getting built up a lot, which is fair enough," Harris said after Friday's play.

"I feel like I've been batting well, but so have lots of 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. Maybe 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.

"I've been proud of that."

Harris said he had put less pressure on himself ahead of the Test squad announcement, with the one top-order vacancy attracting all the attention.

"None of the stuff that comes out is surprising," he said of the media attention.

Harris potentially had a life immediately after lunch on Friday, when he defended a delivery from spinner Tanush Kotian and the ball deflected to first slip.

It was ruled not out and as Harris pointed to his pad, Kotian glared at the umpire and may well face a dissent charge.

Harris, who was on 48, said he pointed to the pad because he had hit it with his bat.

"The boys said they watched it 20 times and you couldn't really tell," he said. "The God's honest truth is I wasn't sure.

"If they'd reviewed it and said, 'You'd hit it' ... fair enough. It just went my way."

After 25 wickets in two days on a lively MCG wicket, Harris said things had to occasionally go the way of the batsman, given there would be plenty of playing and missing.

"When you do well on wickets like that, you actually spend a lot of time down the other end and I think I've gotten a bit fortunate on that," he said.

Putting a high price on his wicket, Harris faced 138 balls and hit five fours.

The opener was the seventh wicket to fall when he fended at a ball from Prasidh Krishna well outside off stump and was caught behind.

Harris, 32, has played 14 Tests, most recently the 2022 Sydney Ashes match.

Fellow Test contenders Nathan McSweeney, Cam Bancroft and Sam Konstas all went cheaply as Australia A made 223 in reply to India A's 161.

Beau Webster continued his strong form, taking two wickets as India A slumped to 5-73 at stumps.

Spinner Corey Rocchiccioli chimed in with a bizarre dismissal after tea, bowling opener Lokesh Rahul for 10.

Rahul went to leave a delivery that bounced and was going down leg, only for the ball to somehow deflect off him and onto the stumps.

Late-order resistance from Jimmy Peirson (30), McAndrew (26no) and Rocchiccioli (35 from 28 balls, with three fours and two sixes) gave Australia the first-innings lead.

Pace bowler Michael Neser, who was injured on day one, did not bat.

Krishna took 4-50, while Mukesh Kumar claimed three wickets and fellow opening bowler Khaleel Ahmed picked up two.

There were two more rain delays on day two, but Melbourne's notoriously fickle spring weather had cleared by mid-afternoon.