Mitch Marsh drops a catch during day five of the First Test. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Source: Getty Images

Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay run as bowler Ryan Harris falls. Picture: Scott Barbour/Getty Source: Getty Images

All the odds favoured the home team at the start of play when Michael Clarke declared on Australia’s overnight tally of 5-290 but a magnificent unbroken third wicket partnership of 148 between opener Murali Vijay and captain Virat Kohli has swung the match heavily in favour of India.

LIVE BLOG: Australia v India, day five

The pair came together in the 20th over, after Nathan Lyon had broken through to have Cheteshwar Pujara caught behind for nine, playing for spin that wasn’t there, but that was to be Australia’s last moment of celebration for a session and a half.

India went to tea at 2-205, having put on exactly 100 runs during the middle session, to leave them with 159 runs to score off 37 overs for victory with eight wickets in hand. That’s a run rate of 4.3 per over, more than achievable on a wicket still behaving well.

Vijay was still there on 85, riding his luck, while Kohli, following up his first innings 115 with an aggressive 82 — making him the most prolific run-scorer of any player captaining India for the first time — was looking more and more like the architect of what would be a historic victory.

Marsh had the chance to break their stand 10 minutes before the interval when he lunged high and to the left to get his hand to a hot chance from Vijay off Mitchell Johnson but couldn’t hold onto the catch. Granted, it would have been a spectacular piece of fielding had he pulled it off but Australia has now reached the point where it desperately needs some brilliance from someone.

It was the second let-off of Vijay’s innings. He was on 24 when South African umpire Marais Erasmus turned down a ferocious lbw appeal from Nathan Lyon but replays showed the ball would have gone on to hit middle stump. But with the Decision Review System not in use because of India’s ongoing objections to it, Erasmus’ poor decision stood.

Not that the Australians had serious grounds for complaint given that replays also showed that the first wicket to fall, opener Shikhar Dhawan, well caught down the legside by Haddin off Johnson for nine, should not have been given. England umpire Ian Gould ruled that the ball had brushed Dhawan’s glove on the way through to the keeper but in fact it came off his left shoulder.

Complicating Australia’s predicament is the loss of Clarke to what appears to be a right hamstring injury — his previous injury being to his left hamstring. He immediately clutched his leg and then fell to the turf after attempting to cut off a quick single and left the field. He has been taken off to hospital for scans.