India 3-104 at tea on day five

Australia have one hand on the Border-Gavaskar trophy after reducing India to 3-104 at tea on a hostile final day of the Boxing Day Test.

Needing only to draw to win the series, Steve Smith declared at lunch on Tuesday, asking the tourists to attempt a record run-chase of 384 runs in two sessions at the MCG.

They slumped to 3-19 in response before Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane halted the collapse with an unbeaten 85-run stand.

Kohli and Rahane put on a 262-run partnership during day three, setting a new mark for the best Indian stand at the venue.

Even if their combination in the second dig reaches the same heights, the tourists will almost certainly run out of time.

There were a minimum of 36 overs remaining in the game at tea.

India will relinquish the Border-Gavaskar trophy if they fail to win in Melbourne, having lost in Adelaide and Brisbane.

England’s 7-332 in 1928 remains the highest successful run-chase in an MCG Test.

Australia used the new ball magnificently, with Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood all snagging a wicket in the opening nine overs.

India’s collapse could easily have been worse, with Kohli almost run out on four after a mix-up with Murali Vijay in the fifth over.

David Warner’s return was wide of Brad Haddin, prompting another heated exchange between Kohli and the wicketkeeper.

Kohli and Rahane both got off the mark with pulled boundaries, refusing to curb their aggression after Shikhar Dhawan, debutant KL Rahul and Vijay all fell cheaply.

Australia had two chances to break the fourth-wicket stand.

Chris Rogers dropped a catch at point when Rahane was on 22 and lashed at a wide ball from Johnson.

Nathan Lyon fumbled a return at the bowler’s end in the final over before tea, with replays suggesting Kohli could have been run out on 54.

Earlier Shaun Marsh was run out on 99, falling centimetres short of his first Test century on home soil.

Two rain delays didn’t help the situation, but neither side had much interest in pushing the game along in a stop-start morning session.

That was until Marsh teed off late, taking 12 runs off one over from India offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

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