Virat Kohli spearheaded an incredible Indian fightback on day three of the Boxing Day Test, but Australia struck late to have the tourists 8-462 at stumps.

Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane put on a record-breaking stand worth 262 runs, showing the fight their teammates were sorely lacking in the field.

It was the biggest fourth-wicket Test stand at the MCG and India’s best partnership at the venue.

Rahane was trapped lbw by Nathan Lyon in the final session for a career-best 147.

Debutant KL Rahul, captain MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin fell in quick succession, while the third day ended with Kohli caught behind on 169.

Even with a bank of 530 runs thanks to Steve Smith’s 192, Australia looked likely to go into overdraft until late in the day.

A heated second session accounted for much of the reason why.

Australia dropped two catches – Kohli on 88 and Rahane on 70.

In between, Kohli almost dropped his bundle after a run-in with Mitchell Johnson.

Attempting a run-out after Kohli had defended the second new ball back to him, paceman Johnson’s throw struck the batsman on the leg.

Kohli hit the ground, prompting the fiery left-armer to immediately apologise.

It looked to be cordial enough until the end of the over, when umpires stepped in to end a slanging match between the pair.

Kohli, fined for an altercation which came between his two centuries at Adelaide Oval during the first Test, was furious and clearly rattled.

At the start of Johnson’s next over, he provided an edge that Shane Watson dropped at first slip.

An attempted pull shot off a Johnson bouncer then resulted in a skied edge, with a diving Brad Haddin falling short of the ball.

The right-hander regained his composure to reach triple figures in the second last over before tea, striking yet another classy cover drive off Nathan Lyon.

Rahane’s reprieve came in the final over before the second new ball was taken, Lyon dropping a dolly with India 3-275.

“That was the easiest caught and bowled we’ve seen in a long time … a 10-year-old could have caught that,” Bill Lawry said while calling the game for the Nine Network.

Substitute fielder Peter Siddle dropped a catch provided by Rahul in the 110th over, but it cost only two runs.

The tourists need a win in Melbourne to keep alive the four-Test series, which remains an unlikely prospect.

India resumed at 1-108, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay both falling to loose strokes before Sunday’s first drinks break.

Haddin snaffled a spectacular catch to dismiss Pujara in the first over of the day.

The 37-year-old flung himself to the right and was almost horizontal when the ball somehow stuck in the webbing of his outstretched right glove.

Haddin repeated the dose to dismiss Kohli off the bowling of Johnson.