Controversy over Tim Paine dismissal as India seize control

Ajinkya Rahane’s remoulded team made its move in the final session, capturing three wickets in 23 balls, including that of Paine, whom DRS ruled was caught behind.

The hosts’ hopes of setting a competitive run chase now rest with rookie Cameron Green and the tail. Australia rallied after crumbling to 6-99 to reach 6-133 at stumps on the third day, a lead of just two. They are now aiming to swell that advantage to between 100 and 150 to make a game of it.

Paine rescued his team in Adelaide but was denied the chance to do it again when umpire Paul Reiffel’s decision was overturned despite seemingly inconclusive evidence from technology, which showed a spike in Snicko after the ball had passed the bat.

Paine was adamant he had not nicked it when the review was called, a view echoed by spin great Shane Warne, who believed the noise was created by the captain scraping his boot along the pitch.

Former ICC umpires boss Simon Taufel, however, defended the video umpire Paul Wilson. Rahane called for a review immediately.

“Light does travel faster than sound … that’s why there is that little bit of timing difference,” Taufel said on Channel Seven.

The Australians, though, were bemused the skipper was sent packing given they had been on the wrong end of a similar decision with the ball to Cheteshwar Pujara a day earlier.

“From what I’ve seen, it looked quite similar to the call yesterday that we actually referred,” Matthew Wade said. “From all reports and from what I’ve seen, Snicko showed a similar thing. One was given out, one was given not out. That’s the way the cookie crumbles.”

Nathan Lyon is on a hat-trick in the second innings after Australia cleaned up India’s tail, claiming the final five wickets for 32 runs only for the batsmen to falter again.

An inexperienced Australian batting line-up struggled two years ago but the return of David Warner and Steve Smith, combined with the rapid improvement of Marnus Labuschagne, meant this side had three world-class batsmen not available when the sides last met.

However, Warner is injured, Labuschagne is struggling being the hunted and Smith is a shadow of the batsman once hailed as the best since Don Bradman.

The superstar No.4 made eight, taking his series tally to 10 runs, with India increasingly confident they have a game plan to quell a man who usually makes life miserable for their bowlers.

Teams have paid a heavy price preying on Smith’s pads but the Indians have turned his strength into a weakness, setting leg-side dominated fields to dry up his scoring. Attempting to squeeze a ball fine, Smith had his leg stump disturbed by Jasprit Bumrah.

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Australia’s second-tier batsmen continue to let them down, though Wade battled hard for 40 in the unfamiliar role of opening.

Travis Head threw his wicket away on 17, flashing at a wide one from Mohammed Siraj, while Burns’s technique was exposed again, caught behind for four. Worse still, he squandered a review.

Former Test captain Ricky Ponting said Burns, with 125 runs from 13 first-class innings at 10.4, was in “sheer panic mode”.

“If [David] Warner comes back then, unfortunately, I think right now it probably has to be Burns that goes,” Ponting said on Channel Seven.

“I think the next Test is on the seventh, so plenty of time for him to get fully fit. With his record, David Warner walks back into the side.”