The Melbourne Cricket Ground has laid down arguably the best batting strip of all Australian grounds so far in the Border-Gavaskar series, and yet a silly mix-up in the middle between in-form opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli derailed what would have been India’s stellar response to Australia’s first innings total of 474, powered by a Steve Smith special ton on the second day of the fourth Test on Friday.

Call it a self-preservation act from the seasoned Kohli or a lack of judgement on the part of half-centurion Jaiswal, the Indian team had to ultimately bear the brunt of the confusion as it allowed the Aussies to make inroads late into the second day’s action with three quick blows that left the visitors reeling at 164 for 5, with Rishabh Pant (6 not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (4 not out) tasked for the rebuilding job once they resume on Saturday.

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Kohli, who was involved in a heated exchange and later penalised 20 percent of his match fee for bumping MCG debutant Sam Konstas on day one of the Test, found himself in the middle of another soup, after he refused to budge from the non-striker’s end in response to Jaiswal’s attempt to steal a single when the left-handed opener was well settled on 82 runs.

The incident took place in the 41st over of the Indian innings after the duo had put up a brilliant 102-run third-wicket partnership when Jaiswal flicked Scott Boland towards Pat Cummins at mid-on and set off without hesitation. Kohli never even attempted the run, turning his back on the scampering Jaiswal who ended up standing next to him at the non-striker’s end, triggering a mini collapse for the tourists.

Jaiswal, who consumed 118 deliveries for his knock laced with 11 boundaries and a six, cut a forlorn figure as he dragged himself out of the field after Kohli indicated he thought there was never a run to be taken. Seven balls later, Kohli, who by then had scored 36, nicked off to Boland, to take the long walk back amidst boos from a record second-day Melbourne crowd.

Whether or not Jaiswal’s dismissal affected the former India skipper is not yet known, but Kohli succumbed in a manner that has become something of the master batter’s trademark of late, leaving India slump to 154 for 4, still a distant 320 runs in arrears.

Nightwatch Akash Deep was sent out at the fall of Jaiswal’s wicket to try and negotiate the final half-hour without further damage, but he too succumbed to Boland in fending a catch to a diving Nathan Lyon at leg gully. It will therefore rest upon keeper-batter Pant and all-rounder Jadeja to forge India’s fightback on Saturday with the visitors still trailing by 310 runs.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma’s prolonged lack of form continued to haunt the Indian captain, who elevated himself back to the opener’s role, ending the successful opening partnership between Jaiswal and KL Rahul.

Rohit survived a mere five deliveries, scoring three runs, before being dismissed by his opposite number Pat Cummins after the right-hander’s half-hearted flick to the leg side from a well-directed short ball floated off a leading edge to the right of mid-on. Rohit’s early dismissal got the pair of Rahul and Jaiswal together, and the duo almost bailed out India from the early jitters with a 43-run second wicket stand before being separated just at the stroke of tea.

Dropped to No.3, Rahul, who has been India’s best batter of the series, looked in decent touch for his 24 runs until Pat Cummins’ outswinger did the damage. Rahul pressed forward to defend the final ball of the session only to see it fizz past the edge of his perfectly perpendicular bat and into the top of the off stump, leaving the job to Kohli and Jaiswal.

Smith sets Aussies on course

Former skipper Steve Smith resumed Australia’s innings for the day with his 34th Test century — 11th against India, and his highest Test score since a double-ton against West Indies at Perth two summers ago — to put the home side in command.

Smith was at his brilliant best for the bulk of his 197-ball stay that netted a score of 140, as he found the boundary when required and pushed singles and twos into the wide open spaces of the MCG. He got to the milestone with a gentle push through the covers that was timed beautifully and raced all the way to the boundary in front of the Shane Warne stand.

Smith received great support from Cummins at the other end as the Aussie skipper contributed a handy 49 and combined for a partnership of 112 that helped keep the hosts in the ascendancy. Both Smith and Cummins found scoring easy to come by as India’s bowlers looked below their best with the usually reliable Jasprit Bumrah (4/99) conceding his most runs ever during a Test innings and Jadeja (3/78) arguably the pick of the visiting bowlers.

Cummins was the only wicket that India managed in the opening session of play but came back strongly in the second session with Deep (2/94) packing back the centurion Smith, who departed the MCG to a standing ovation from the massive crowd in excess of 85,000 people.

Pitch invader sprints to hug Kohli

The Indian batting superstar, who had been at the centre of attention following his altercation with Konstas on Thursday, and was subjected to jeers and boos by the MCG crowd, however, found an admirer in a pitch invader, who sprinted onto the field and tried to hug Kohli. The intruder initially headed towards captain Rohit Sharma, who was stationed in the slip cordon during Australi’s first innings, before diverting his attention to Kohli.

Kohli, too, wrapped his arm around the invader before the security personnel acted swiftly, intercepting the intruder and escorting him off the field. The brief interruption caused a temporary halt in play, but the game quickly resumed without further incident.

Brief Scores: India 164 for 5 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 82, Virat Kohli 36; Scott Boland 2-24, Pat Cummins 2-57) trail Australia 474 (Steve Smith 140, Marnus Labuschagne 72, Sam Konstas 60, Usman Khawaja 57, Pat Cummins 49; Jasprit Bumrah 4-99, Ravindra Jadeja 3-78, Akash Deep 2-94) by 310 runs.