INDIA DIG IN BEFORE FINAL LAUNCH

Chasing a mammoth target, Kohli and Rahane keep team alive despite losing wickets against run of play on Day 4

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

SHORTLY before tea on Saturday, the mood turned. As if a batch of rain-bearing clouds had replaced blue-bird skies without any warning. In pursuit of history, India were motoring along. The crowd, a majority of them wearing blue, had settled in with their post-lunch beer mugs and accompaniments. On the field, the Australians were already forced into one ball change; the effect of leaking five boundaries inside the first four overs. They did have 444 runs to play with but Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill had very quickly set the tempo. So, Pat Cummins removed himself and gave the replacement ball to Mitchell Starc.

Off Starc's second delivery, Sharma helped the short ball behind square for a six. That was the mood the two openers were in. Forget about playing for tea. With one over remaining for the break, Scott Boland was entrusted with the task of trying to break the partnership. He did just that, inducing a false shot from Gill whose ill-advised waft away from the body found the outside edge.

What lit the blue torch paper, though, was what happened afterwards. The thick edge flew wide off Cameron Green whose acrobatic one-handed grab was played over and over again on the big screens. While Gill stood his ground as he was entitled to the third umpire took his time, pouring over the finer details of the catch from all angles available to him (with no soft signal to guide him, he was free to make his own decision, his own interpretation). While replays were inconclusive to say the least, the umpire was of the opinion that Green's fingers were underneath the ball.