Australia carved out another run-making record, exceeding captain Steve Smith’s expectations to set the stage for a thrilling final day of the fourth Test.

Smith took his series tally to a remarkable 769 runs in Sydney as Australia raced to a 348-run lead at stumps on day four.

Wanting quick runs on a slow SCG pitch that had started to turn, Smith calmly peeled off 71 from 70 balls to spark what had been a tepid contest.

Smith’s knock plus a boundary-laden partnership between Joe Burns and Brad Haddin pushed Australia’s second-innings score to 6-251 off 40 overs.

In an innings of at least 40 overs, their run-rate of 6.27 has only once been bettered in the history of Test cricket.

That was South Africa’s 6.8 in their first innings of 3(dec)-340 against Zimbabwe in 2005.

The Australian record follows a new benchmark set in the first dig, when their top six all passed 50 for the first time in a Test.

“I was hoping for above 300, so it’s a pretty good number,” Smith said of Australia’s lead.

“We weren’t really slogging, we were just playing nice cricket shots.”

Smith, speaking to the Nine Network, gave little away about an expected overnight declaration.

“The wicket’s starting to turn quite a bit and bounce out of the rough. So hopefully it plays a few more tricks for us tomorrow,” he said.

Smith opted to play it safe in Melbourne, where Australia grabbed the Border-Gavaskar trophy with a draw.

But the 25-year-old appeared to have only one result in mind on Friday afternoon when he walked out with the score at 2-46 and Ravichandran Ashwin bowling brilliantly.

He struck a sweetly-timed six off Ashwin, belittling the offspinner who had been a handful from the moment he was handed the new ball and dismissed David Warner.

He passed 50 after 44 balls by reverse sweeping Ashwin, who also removed Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh and Burns.

Smith was denied a fifth century in the series, but Burns and Haddin teed off in style – their 86-run stand coming at 9.92 runs an over.

Ashwin, who scored a patient 50 as India amassed 475 to cut Australia’s first-innings lead to 97 runs, suggested the stand was a source of confidence.

“Joe Burns showed the bowler can still be taken on, and taken on with a lot of success,” Ashwin said.

“We batted pretty well in Adelaide and there’s not a lot of devils in the wicket.

“We are here to play positive cricket and win games of cricket.”

Australia’s 2-288 against South Africa in 2006 is the record for a successful run-chase in an SCG Test.

“The wicket spun and it will only get harder to bat on as the game goes on,” Burns said.

“I’m sure we will create 10 opportunities, it is just a matter of taking all ten.”

Virat Kohli, out for 147 in the morning session, delivered a verbal send-off to Warner in the afternoon.

Umpire Kumar Dharmasena spoke to the India skipper shortly after the wicket.