In a turbo-charged final session on Saturday, Scott Boland took 4-42 for Australia as Rishabh Pant whacked 61 from 33 balls to keep India in the contest.
Needing to win in Sydney to level the series at 2-2 and retain the trophy, India went all out in their attack in bid to counteract a spicy SCG wicket.
After Australia were all out for 181 on the stroke of tea, India left conventional Test cricket at the door and went at a run-rate of 5.63 for the first 22 overs before Rishabh's dismissal.
The end result means this Sydney Test could well be over inside three days, with Australia facing the prospect of chasing down a tricky fourth-innings total.
Rishabh Pant hit 61 from just 33 balls as India went on the attack at the SCG. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
The difficulty of that could also be determined by the fitness of India's star bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who left the SCG for scans on back spasms under an ambulance escort on Saturday.
For many members of Australia's team Sunday's play could be legacy defining, with the hosts having not beaten India in a series since 2014-15.
"Legacy conversations are for others externally," coach Andrew McDonald said.
"We're here to win a series. Would we get great satisfaction over winning a series against India? There is no doubt about that."
McDonald said Australia would take confidence from recent chases, including their mammoth efforts at both Edgbaston in 2023 and Christchurch in 2024.
"Every situation and every game is different, the scenario and circumstances, all those types of things," McDonald said.
"But I think if you have been there and done it before then you take confidence to be able to navigate through those scenarios.
"In particular for the lower order, who potentially may be called upon tomorrow."
The Scott Boland show is delivering at the SCG!— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) He's got Virat Kohli now. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/12xG5IWL2jJanuary 4, 2025
If Pat Cummins does hoist the Border-Gavaskar Trophy aloft in Sydney, it will largely be thanks to the efforts of two his non-regular players in Boland and Beau Webster.
After Australia started the day at 1-9 and Sam Konstas (23) provided his flash-in-a-pan highlights early, the hosts slumped to 4-39 in the first 45 minutes of play.
Steve Smith appeared the man most likely to rescue of Australia, pulling Prasidh Krishna for six and cover-driving his way to 33.
But five runs short of the 10,000-run milestone in Test cricket, he edged Krishna to slip and the game was back in the balance.
Where Smith faltered, debutant Webster did not on his way to 57.
The Tasmanian looked every bit the man who averaged above 50 for the past three years in first-class cricket, justifying the call to bring him in for Mitch Marsh.
The only thing missing was support from the other end, as Australia lost 4-19 to finish the innings with Webster the second last man dismissed.
Allrounder Beau Webster has hit a half-century in his Test debut for Australia. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)
Then with the ball, it was Boland who did the job.
Only picked in Australia's first-choice side once when all of the big three quicks have been available, Boland continues to make a case to be a regular in the Test team.
After bagging 4-31 in the first innings, he bowled Yashavsi Jaiswal with a gem, had KL Rahul edge on and again claimed the wicket of Virat Kohli.
Boland now has Kohli five times in Test cricket, while the Indian star's last innings in Australia ended the same as every other this summer, edging behind the wicket.
Kohli's dismissal prompted Rishabh's arrival, and 33 balls of legside hoiks, slog-sweeps, scoop-sweeps, charges down the wicket and even an attempted switch-hit.
But when India's wicketkeeper edged a short and wide ball from Cummins, the match was back in Australia's favour.
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