All eyes on Virat & Rohit to plot a magical win, rediscover glory

If Sunday's Test cricket at the MCG was exhilarating, a mouth-watering Monday awaits the audience on Monday. With Australia's overall lead sitting on 333—the highest score a team has chased to win here is 332, almost a century ago—and with a wicket in hand, all three results are possible. A historic Border-Gavaskar retaining triumph by the Indians; a vital win for Australia, who were reeling on Saturday morning but were revived by captain Pat Cummins and the fellow bowlers; or that cricket-romantic's dream of a tie that both countries can't stop talking about since the 1987 one in Chennai.

- SRIRAM VEERA

But two Indians have more reasons than most to dare, hope and dream: Rohit Sharma, the under-fire captain whose batting has suggested he is playing from a fading memory in this series, and Virat Kohli, who hasn't been quite able to discipline his mind from betraying him. Both were let down by their inability to rev up what used to be their strengths: Rohit's attacking batting, Kohli's mental strength in taming his urges.

Their days couldn't have started more contrastingly, before ending almost similarly.

Rohit started the day, standing in his jumper and watching the rest of the team warm up. He never quite joined in; just a look at a distance in nothing in particular for a while. Kohli contrastingly was here, there, everywhere, and addressed the huddle, after Nitish Reddy had holed out and Australia's innings was about to begin.