India lost Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja but were stubbornly inching closer to the follow-on mark as they reached 244-7 at lunch on day three of the fourth Test against Australia on Saturday.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was on a defiant 40 and Washington Sundar five at lunch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the tourists still 31 runs short of avoiding the follow-on.
India lost both overnight batsmen as they added 80 off 27 overs in the first session as Australia continued to have the upper hand after dominating the first two days.
Seamer Scott Boland removed the aggressive Pant for 28 off 37 balls before off-spinner Nathan Lyon accounted for Jadeja for 17 after India had resumed at 164-5.
Pant’s slightly streaky knock ended when he over-balanced while attempting a ramp shot for six, top-edging the ball to third man where Lyon held the catch.
Jadeja batted more doggedly, taking 18 balls to score his first runs of the day, before playing back to a Lyon delivery that skidded on and trapped him lbw.
India’s chance of a respectable score may hinge on rookie all-rounder Reddy, who has scored 219 runs in the series at an average just under 55.
Australia, looking to go 2-1 up in the five-match series, scored 474 in their first innings, built around 140 from Steve Smith.
India could be aided by the Melbourne weather, with a forecast possibility of rain in the afternoon session.
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