use feature qw / say /;

sub check_match {  
  $n++;
  my $expr = shift;
  say ("$n th match" . (eval($expr) ? ' succeeds' : ' fails'));  
}

@a = (1, 17, 4);
check_match('@a ~~ 17');
check_match('(1, 17, 4) ~~ 17');

$b = [1, 17, 4];
check_match('$b ~~ 17');
check_match('[1, 17, 4] ~~ 17');