India showed they can bat a bit away from home as well with a pretty good show on Day 3, albeit on a dead as a dodo pitch, and the batsmen will now look to extend their time in the middle when Australia vs India 1st Test, Day 4 in Adelaide resumes on Friday.
In an extended day's play, due to the fact that Day 2 was rain-hit, India were asked to bat right from the off, after an overnight declaration from Australia, and thanks to a wonderful century from skipper Virat Kohli, India managed to get to 369 for five in 97 overs on Day 3.
Kohli was under pressure to score runs after a lean patch in England, and the stand-in captain made full use of the flat pitch in Adelaide to help himself to 115 runs.
The only blemish of that innings was his wicket given away three-and-a-bit overs from the close of play, with Mitchell Johnson's short ball doing the trick.
That short ball was what greeted Kohli early in the day, though, with the bouncer striking him on the helmet first ball and leaving everyone at the Adelaide Oval shaken, particularly the bowler Johnson.
"Your heart skips a beat, especially for the four guys out there (who were on the pitch when Phil Hughes was hit by a bouncer)," said Nathan Lyon, the pick of the bowlers on Day three for Australia. "I know I went to everyone just to ask if they were OK because it's something that you don't want to see again.
"Today, that sound was pretty familiar. That's why we all ran in quite there quickly just to see if he was OK, that's the main thing. It's something that you don't want to see ever happen again, what we saw with Phil."
Kohli overcame that early blow pretty well and went on to make the glorious hundred, and while the India batsman will take the Day 3 plaudits, a lot of praise must also go to Lyon, who bowled intelligently, with the right pace, while making full use of the footmarks which had been created by the India bowlers in the first innings.
"We had big Ishant [Sharma] running down the middle of the wicket bowling to Davey Warner around the wicket, so thankful for him making some footmarks for me and bowling around the wicket to Davey," Lyon said of the footmarks which helped him send Ajinkya Rahane packing.
"I'm looking forward to bowling more into those footmarks and hopefully he bowls there again and does it for the whole series."
Plenty more spin will be expected in the final two days, and with India still trailing by 148 runs, it will be up to the batsmen in the middle – Rohit Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha – to stitch together as big a partnership as possible on Day 4 morning.
Rohit looked pretty good in his 61-ball stay, while Saha was given a baptism by fire by Johnson in the final couple of overs of the day. If the duo can push through and bat for a couple of hours on Day 4, then India should be able to get as close to the Australia score as possible.
Where to Watch Live
Get the story on Aaron and Warner HERE
Get the Day 4 Score HERE
The fourth day of the 1st Test match between Australia and India is set to begin at 10 am local time (10.30 am AEDT, 5 am IST, 11.30 pm GMT, 6.30 pm ET) with live coverage in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 and Star Sports HD2. Viewers in India can watch Day 4 also via live streaming online on Starsports.com.
Catch the action live in Australia on Channel 9, while viewers can also live stream the match on Cricket Australia Live or the Cricket Australia Live App.
Audience in the UK can watch Day 4 live on Sky Sports 2, while there is also a live streaming option on Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports. Viewers in the USA can watch the game on Willow TV or also live stream the action on Willow TV Online. Audience in the Middle East can watch the match live on OSN or live stream it online on OSN Play.
