It will be a war of attrition for India come Day 5 of the first Test in Adelaide against Australia on Saturday.
Staring at a deficit of 363 runs, India will need to bat out of their skins to avoid defeat against an Australia team who thoroughly dominated Day 4 on Friday.
David Warner was the catalyst behind Australia's surge with the bat on Day 4, smashing the bowlers to smithereens for the second straight innings to complete a second century in the Test match, while Steven Smith and Mitchell Marsh more than did their bit as well.
"I've got to keep riding this rollercoaster and keep doing my job for the team, which is scoring runs at the top," said Warner. "Sometimes there is an advantage but at the top of the order you've got to bat as long as you can as big as you can.
"For me now it's about when I'm getting those hundreds, I've got to make big hundreds and turn them into double-hundreds for the team. That's my next goal, once I'm in I've got to try to go big like Michael Clarke did against India last time."
Thanks largely to Warner, Australia got to 290 for five in 69 overs after Day 4, and the home side will undoubtedly declare overnight, leaving India to bat the entire day on the final day of the first Test at the Adelaide Oval.
"We will have to apply our minds," said Ajinkya Rahane when asked about batting on Day 5. "We will have to come in with a strong mind set and it will be all about patience.
"Our intent will be very crucial too. We will have to go in with the same intent that we showed in the first innings. We will have to be careful with our shot selection. If we do all these things, I am confident that we will do well."
While 364 is not an impossible score to reach in one full day, it does look unlikely that India will – of course, assuming the declaration is made overnight – be able to do that, with the battle set to be about survival, rather than victory, at least for the first session, on a wearing pitch.
If India are to survive, though, they will have to play Nathan Lyon a lot better than they have this Test, after the off-spinner played a major role in finishing off the away team's bating on Day 4 morning. Lyon has made full use of the footmarks created in this match, and if the off-spinner is allowed to get on top of the India batsmen again, then the match could end in a hurry.
"Lyon is an experienced bowler and he [has] used the conditions very well," added Rahane.
Where to Watch Live
Get the Final Report HERE
Day 5 of the first Test (India vs Australia) is scheduled for a 10 am local time (10.30 am AEDT, 5 am IST, 11.30 pm GMT, 6.30 pm ET) start with live coverage in India on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 3 (Hindi) and Star Sports HD2. Viewers in India can also watch Day 4 via live streaming online on Starsports.com.
Catch the match live on Channel 9 in Australia, while audience in the country can also live stream the match on Cricket Australia Live or the Cricket Australia Live App.
Viewers in the UK can watch all the Day 5 action live on Sky Sports 2, while the live streaming option is on Sky Go or Watch Sky Sports. The final day of the Test match can be watched by viewers in USA on Willow TV or via a live stream on Willow TV Online. Viewers in the Middle East can catch the action on OSN or via live streaming online on OSN Play.
