Dean century puts Victoria in control

A third first-class century from rookie opener Travis Dean has put Victoria in a strong position after two days of the Sheffield Shield final against South Australia in Adelaide.

Dean, who made history at the start of the season with a hundred in each innings of his first-class debut, became just the fourth man after Jordan Silk (2013), Phillip Hughes (2008) and Justin Langer (1992) to score a century in the final of his maiden Shield season.

Dean (111 with 15 fours and a six) and Peter Handscomb (79 not out) steered the Bushrangers to 4-269 at the close, 71 runs behind South Australia's first innings of 340, as they aim to become the first visiting side in 11 years to win a season decider.

South Australia's all-pace attack looked threatening early in the day but the runs flowed late on as Dean and Handscomb shared a match-turning partnership of 140 for the third wicket.

Redbacks paceman Daniel Worrall, who stood out with figures of 3-51 on a frustrating day for the bowlers, was upbeat despite Victoria getting the better of the day.

"The game's in the balance at the moment," Worrall said. "We were slightly ahead yesterday but today, they batted beautifully.

"Handscomb was calm and collected, Dean just worked it beautifully through the innings.

"We've got to find a way to combat that in the second innings but out focus tomorrow morning is to just take a few and win that session. It's as simple as that."

Having finished off South Australia's tail in just three-and-a-half overs to start the morning - Chris Tremain claiming both wickets to fall to finish with 3-73 - Victoria began their innings in a hurry.

Redbacks quick Chadd Sayers, who took 10 wickets in their win over Tasmania here last week, erred in drifting onto the pads of the left-handed Rob Quiney, who helped himself to four leg-side boundaries in the early stages.

While Sayers leaked 26 from his opening five-over spell, Worrall (3-51) was proving to be a far greater threat and it was he who got the breakthrough, having Quiney well caught by Sam Raphael in the gully with the score on 29.

Worrall gave up just 12 runs in his seven-over opening burst and Joe Mennie, the competition's leading wicket-taker, also kept things tight when he replaced Sayers from the southern end.

The run rate was in check but it was a frustrating morning overall for the hosts, who had several vocal appeals turned down as Dean and Marcus Stoinis took the Vics to 1-60 at lunch.

The anguish for the locals continued after the break as several more appeals were dismissed and Victoria moved beyond the 100 mark, but with the scoring rate less than three runs an over, the match was still evenly poised.

So when the impressive Worrall was re-introduced and produced a brute of a short ball that was adjudged to have grazed Stoinis' bat or glove on the way through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, the Redbacks were back in the contest.

The right-armer persisted with the short-pitched attack during his post-lunch spell, at one point bowling around the wicket with several close catchers on the leg-side, but was unable to add to his two wickets.

Dean's eighth boundary, a powerful cut shot through point, brought up a well-made half-century a short time after Stoinis departed before Sayers was convinced he'd trapped new man Handscomb in front, only for Umpire Mick Martell to again shake his head.

With the unflappable Dean mixing resolute defence with the occasional blast through the off-side, Handscomb went on the attack, hitting five boundaries before tea as the pair added 50 in just 66 balls to go to the interval with the deficit reduced to 179.

The growing frustration of the home fans and the 11 Redbacks out in the middle bubbled to the surface 30 minutes after the resumption when captain Travis Head, who bowled nine overs of off-spin for 47 as the main slow bowler in the side, collected the ball off his own bowling and threw it back towards the stumps at the striker's end.

The batsman Handscomb proceeded to slap the ball to the mid-wicket boundary, eliciting an appeal from some members of the Redbacks side and boos from sections of the crowd.

The incident earned Handscomb nothing more than a talking to from umpires Wilson and Martell, but the flashpoint served to illustrate the shifting momentum in the match.

Having played within himself for most of the day, Dean then went after Head to bring up three figures in style, dismissing any thought of the nervous nineties with two fours and a six in the space of five deliveries before accepting the warm applause of his teammates.

And the runs continued to flow at a steady pace throughout the evening session despite some tight bowling from SA's four seamers, with the lack of a frontline spinner telling.

Ironically, it was rookie quick Elliott Opie - who got the nod over left-arm tweaker Tom Andrews in the final XI - who eventually removed Dean late in the day, finding the edge through to Carey.

Skipper Matthew Wade posted 14 before Worrall grabbed his third, his second delivery with the second new ball swinging back into the left-hander's stumps to bring nightwatchman Scott Boland to the crease.

The tail-ender was beaten twice in consecutive balls, caught behind off his arm guard and then dropped by Raphael in the gully off Worrall to illicit the biggest roar of the day from the crowd of 2,548, but the Vics survived on a day that saw them take a significant step towards a 30th Shield title.