Ali's 103, which came off 187 balls, rescued Tripura from a precarious position as the visitors were tottering at 54 for three at one stage.
The left-handed Ali was cynosure of all eyes as he stitched three vital partnerships -- 32 runs with skipper Ajay Ratra, 44 with Abhijit Dey and 67 with Debabrata Chowdhury -- to single-handedly steer Tripura's innings.
Barring Ali, Samrat Singha (15), Udit Patel (26), Ratra (27), Abhijit (17) and Debabrata (20) all got starts but couln't convert them into big scores.
At stumps, Manisankar Murasingh (5) was giving Ali company at the other end.
Medium pacers Syed Sahabuddin and Duvvarapu Shivkumar picked up two wickets apiece for Andhra Pradesh, giving away 44 and 40 runs respectively.
Brief Scores:
Tripura 1st innings: 228 for six in 90 overs (Syed Abbas Ali 103 not out; Syed Sahabuddin 2/44, Duvvarapu Shivkumar 2/40).