Australia’s efforts to force a second successive victory, and take a 2-1 lead in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy were on Tuesday vetoed by laborious half centuries from KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja before India’s tail — Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep — held firm at the Gabba to avoid a follow-on even as persistent rains continued to disrupt proceedings on the penultimate day of the third Test.

At stumps, India reached 252 for 9, still trailing by 193, but with the follow-on off the table thanks to an impressive last-wicket rearguard from Deep (27 not out) and Bumrah (10 not out), Australia will have to revisit their strategy on the final day if they are to claim victory in a match, they largely dominated. Having said that, the Aussies will also have to utilise their backup bowling resources, after a potentially series-ending calf injury forced one of their lead pacers — Josh Hazlewood — out of action on Day 4.

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Resuming at 51 for 4, India would have lost KL Rahul early in the morning session, had Steve Smith, one of the great slippers of his era, held on to an edge off Pat Cummins, and the Karnataka right-hander took full advantage of the let-off by adding another 51 runs to his overnight total of 33 even as wickets continued to tumble at the other end.

Cummins, though was rewarded for his persistence, six overs later, when he managed to get his opposite number Rohit Sharma (10), with a leg-cutter inducing a thinner edge back to wicketkeeper Alex Carry.

Reduced to 75 for 5, India desperately needed some solidity in the middle, and Rahul found the perfect ally in the experienced Ravindra Jadeja, along with the regular bonus of intermittent showers to aid their cause. The sixth-wicket pair offered the kind of resistance India would have expected from the top order, for almost 20 overs, adding a crucial 67 runs in between squalls before it was Rahul (84) who finally succumbed.

Australia’s seasoned off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who until then had less involvement in this match than the ground staff, broke the deadlock after Rahul’s attempted punch through cover point found only the edge of his bat for Smith to make amends for the earlier miss. Rahul’s departure brought in Nitish Kumar Reddy, who once again showed himself to be a steady hand in the lower order, soaking up 61 balls, before Cummins intervened with the first ball after another frustrating rain break.

At that point, India were still 52 short of the follow-on mark, and their tail was exposed but another rain break delayed Australia’s hopes of wrapping up India’s innings. On return, Mohammed Siraj perished nicking behind Mitchell Starc, but Jadeja remained the thorn for the opposition.

By the time, the Saurashtra southpaw moved to 77, a frustrated Cummins dropped a bouncer to prevent him from crossing over on the final ball of the over, but Jadeja lashed on to it, and failed to properly connect it, resulting in his dismissal. The left-hander’s dismissal did raise hopes for the Aussies to enforce the follow-on, but Akash Deep and Bumrah threw cold water to their plans, with a defiant 39-run unbroken stand to see off the final nine overs of the day.

Brief Scores: India 252 for 9 (Rahul 84, Jadeja 77, Cummins 4-80, Starc 3-83) trail Australia 445 by 193 runs.

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