India have kept their faint hopes of victory alive in the fourth Test after Australia could only take one wicket before lunch at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The hosts declared overnight after captain Steve Smith surpassed Sir Don Bradman's record for most runs in a Test series against India.
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Chasing 349 to win, India didn't look in any rush for victory in the opening half-hour, scoring just 10 runs on a slow, spin-friendly pitch.
Ryan Harris found a touch of away swing before the drinks break but couldn't entice the outside edge out of first-innings centurion Lokesh Rahul, despite a play and miss.
The opener soon lost his wicket after gloving spinner Nathan Lyon (1-45) into the grateful hands of David Warner at short leg.
Lyon then thought he had Rohit Sharma out stumped off the next ball, but television replays proved inconclusive and the Indian right-hander was granted a reprieve.
However, the Australians tightened the screw as India went 39 balls without scoring, and their hopes of victory looked to have gone as well.
Sharma (19*) and Murali Vijay (35*) managed to break the Aussie stranglehold and reach the lunch break at 73-1, still 279 runs away from India's target with two sessions remaining.
Chris O'Keefe
