'It's still game on' – Aaron Finch

After the first day when India scored 215/2, there were murmurs that the Melbourne Cricket Ground strip was flat, yet as play progressed on second day there were few but certain signs of deterioration – notably centurion Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dismissed by balls that kept low.

There has already been a degree of variable bounce, and that should be a cause of concern for Australia who managed to play out six tricky overs unscathed, while scoring just eight runs. Yet, Finch feels that life in the pitch would give Australia a chance of pushing for victory if their batsmen apply themselves.

"This wicket is deteriorating a lot more than what we thought it would," Finch said at day's end. "We saw tonight, the ball was skidding through and there were a couple that took off.

"So it’s still game on if we bat really well, and then back up and bowl again and put India under a lot of pressure. I think all three results are still on the table – [wins for] India, Australia and a draw.

"It’s so hard to say after two days when the wicket is deteriorating, but we’re very confident that we can bat really big in this first innings and put India under pressure again."

While Australia's bowlers were unable to make regular breakthroughs with Cheteshwar Pujara (106), Virat Kohli (82) and Rohit Sharma (63*) piling on the runs, they still kept things tight, not letting the situation get on to their nerves. India's run-rate through the innings was contained to 2.33.

"That was a long stint, and they kept backing up and kept starting their spells really well," Finch said of the five-member bowling group.

"I think having Mitch Marsh there as well was a real crucial part of that bowling attack, the way that he controlled the run rate as well - at times it can be a bit overlooked when you look at the wickets column.

"But the amount of work that the guys did, bowling to plans and it would have been easy today in that second session to let the game get away from us. The way that they were just grinding away and rolled up the sleeves and did the hard work was just outstanding."

The biggest complaint for Australia would be the two easy dropped chances in the field along with a tougher one, Nathan Lyon the unlucky bowler on each occasion. Substitute fielder Peter Siddle dropped Rohit Sharma at short fine leg, Pat Cummins made a mess of a straight-forward chance to dismiss Rishabh Pant at long on, while Travis Head put down a sharper one at short leg.

"I think it was just a couple of overs there that we didn’t get it right," Finch said. "A bit of fatigue setting in, and guys just drifting slightly but that happens.

"We put in a lot of hard work and a lot of really good work today. So I don’t think that performance should be defined by a couple of dropped catches."