When asked about his approach with the bat, Head explained, “30 overs seems to be about the mark on Adelaide Oval. For my whole career, it has felt like that’s (whether it is) the red ball, pink ball the time you’ve got to put in and invest. Then it feels like the wicket gets slightly easier to bat on. Huge effort from those guys last night to do it.”

While the 157 runs deficit was always going to be stiff, India came out with an attacking intent. It was a double-edged sword but the visitors felt they had to take a chance, especially after watching Australia bat. The pitch had obviously eased out, but the conditions were different. Australian pacer’s release point — read tall fast bowlers extracting extra bounce off length — and pink ball swinging under lights meant they needed the discipline that Labuschagne and McSweeney showed on Friday. However, India went the other way and paid a price for it.

First, KL Rahul awkwardly tried to pull Pat Cummins only to be caught behind. Just a few overs later, Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to Scott Boland after a 31-ball 24. Shubman Gill looked at home while Virat Kohli’s off-side issues continued. When it seemed like Gill would make it big, Mitchell Starc delivered a peach of an inswinger to clean him up. Cummins followed it up with a perfect delivery that hit Rohit Sharma’s off-stump.

Once again, India were down in the dumps, leaving Rishabh Pant and Nitish Kumar Reddy to do the rescue act. The duo did produce some audacious shots to bring the deficit under fifty (29), but it all will depend on how the first session goes on Sunday. India have already lost half their side and will need both the youngsters to put on big scores — read at least 200-run lead — for them to have a chance at winning.

For now, Australia have the visitors on the ropes once again, all thanks to that South Australian — Travis Head.