Sam Konstas was “pretty stoked” with his Australia A century in India, particularly having stared down “a few demons, mentally”.
The 19-year-old, who admitted conditions were “good for batting” made a classy 144-ball 109 against a strong India A attack, with his final 50 runs coming off just 36 balls.
And while rapt with the ton from Konstas, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald says the teen now must sustain his promising form.
“To come from the West Indies, to go away and work on your game, that winter investment, to get an immediate return gives a lot of confidence,” McDonald told SEN radio.
“A lot of our game is about confidence and believing in what you’re doing.
“To get that feedback in that short space of time is incredibly rewarding for the player and coaches that have worked on that.
“And now, it’s the ability to sustain that.”
McDonald reiterated Sheffield Shield form ahead of the Ashes would weigh heavier than the current Australia A tour, designed with the 2027 series in India in mind.
And batting conditions in Lucknow may not be quite what the Test side will encounter in the Border-Gavaskar Series, declaring on 6-532 on Wednesday after Josh Philippe flayed a rapid 123 off 87.
But the Austrlaia coach said he hoped the early investment in Konstas at Test level would reap long-term rewards.
“There’s a debate around whether exposing young batters too early potentially can damage across the journey,” McDonald said.
“Match opportunities give you great learning space and an ability to go from game to game against quality opponents.
“That is a steep learning curve and if you can take that information and carry it on to the next game, that is what experience is.”
The runs in Lucknow flowed on the back of a 146-ball century in a pre-season practice match for NSW last week.
Before that, Konstas had endured a torrid time on a three-Test tour of the West Indies where he scored just 50 runs in six innings – scores of 3, 5, 25, 0, 17 and 0.
That had left him feeling the pressure, but the confidence is now back in his game.
“It’s good spending some time in the middle. Today I felt I had to face quite a few demons mentally and I just had to get through that.
“There are obviously different challenges and just trying to adapt to the conditions. I am super stoked and hopefully I can build on that.
“It didn’t spin much so just backing my instincts and trying to rinse and repeat each ball with my process.”
After a delayed start, Konstas brought up his century within a session of play on Tuesday. On a wicket that seamed early more than it spun, Konstas hit 18 from his first 46 balls against an India A attack featuring Test quick Prasidh Krishna.
After that initial watchful phase, the right-hander hit 10 fours and three sixes and reached his century by clearing the long-on boundary in a 198-run opening stand with fellow young gun opener Campbell Kellaway of Victoria.
Australia A tour of India
India A four-day squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (vice-captain, wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur. Second match only: KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj
Australia A four-day squad: Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Aaron Hardie, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton. Second match only: Will Sutherland
September 16-19: First four-day match, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 3pm AEST
September 23-26: Second four-day match, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 3pm AEST
India A one-day squad (first match): Rajat Patidar (c), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh
India A one-day squad (second and third matches): Tilak Varma (c), Rajat Patidar (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh
Australia A one-day squad: Cooper Connolly, Harry Dixon, Jack Edwards, Sam Elliott, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Lachlan Hearne, Todd Murphy, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachie Shaw, Tom Straker, Will Sutherland, Henry Thornton
September 30: First one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST
October 3: Second one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST
October 5: Third one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 4pm AEDT
