Kohli dominated the bowlers, particularly Mitchell Johnson, for his third ton of the series, while Rahane hit his highest Test score of 147.
India were 462-8 at stumps, trailing by 68 runs with two days remaining. Muhammed Shami was not out on nine, while Kohli was dismissed on the last ball of the day off Johnson for 169.
The two were particularly severe on Johnson, with Kohli crunching three fours off one over and Rahane repeating the dose in Johnson’s next. There were also some verbal clashes between Kohli and Johnson, with the pacer hitting Kohli on the back as he threw the ball onto the stumps and the two were constantly embroiled in a war of tongues during the day. Kohli, however, said he relishes such exchanges. “I like playing against Australia because it’s very hard for them to stay calm,” he said. “I don’t mind. It really excites me and brings the best out in me.”
India’s cause was aided by a poor day in the field for Australia with three dropped catches.
Lyon bungled a regulation two-handed chance when Rahane was on 70 and Watson put down Kohli on 88.
Substitute fielder Peter Siddle made it three with a dropped two-handed chance off Lokesh Rahul but the debutant was out off Lyon’s next ball, caught by Josh Hazlewood for three.
Skipper MS Dhoni was dismissed late in the day, caught behind off Harris for 11 and the pacer took a tumbling caught and bowled to dismiss Ravi Ashwin for a duck to peg the visitors back, who went from 409-3 to 462-8.
India, trailing 2-0, are striving to win the Melbourne Test to stay alive in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series but have not won at the MCG for 33 years.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2014.
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