Colombo carnage to a Dharamsala Decider

In the wake of Australia's three-nil series whitewash at the hands of Sri Lanka in August, a devastated Steve Smith fronted the press to attempt to explain another failure at the hands of quality spin-bowling on the subcontinent.

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"What we are doing isn't working," the Australia captain said in Colombo after their humiliating 163-run defeat in the third Test.

"Batters aren't adapting to the conditions, spin bowlers aren't adapting to the conditions.

"There's not too many positives. We've been totally outplayed."

Fast-forward three months to Hobart, where Australia suffered their fifth-straight Test defeat. Having been dismantled this time by a quality South African fast-bowling unit, an "embarrassed" Steve Smith called on his team to show more fight in the face of adversity.

"We're not being resilient, we're not willing to tough it out and get through tough periods," Smith said in the aftermath of the disastrous, series-sealing innings-and-80-run loss to the Proteas.

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"Right now it's not good enough.

"I am hurting.

"I need players that are willing to get in the contest and get in the battle and have some pride in playing for Australia and pride in the Baggy Green."

Few would have predicted Smith's pleas would be answered so soon, especially against an Indian team ranked the best in the world and playing in their own backyard.

The tourists' defiant fifth-day vigil in the third Test in Ranchi which denied Virat Kohli's side victory represents one of the very few occasions Australia have eked out a series-saving draw with their backs against the wall.

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The rescue act came about largely thanks to two spirited individual knocks from Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh, who between them soaked up nearly 400 deliveries against an attack featuring the two best bowlers on the planet (according to the ICC rankings) in Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.

In total Handscomb faced 200 deliveries and Marsh 197, the two highest amount of most balls faced to save a Test during Smith's reign as skipper.

It was the first time this century that an Australia team has ticked the overs column into triple-digits in the last innings of a Test to see out a draw in Asia, and just the fourth time anywhere in the same period.

And the resilience and willingness to "tough it out" was evident in spades; Australia's 204 second-innings runs came at the glacial pace (by the T20 era's standards) of just over two runs per over, which equated to the team's slowest Test innings since 1979 (minimum 200 runs).

The achievement was all the more miraculous considering it was played out in the same Asian conditions where Australia had conspired to lose each of their previous nine Tests prior to the current series.

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While their shock first Test win inside three days in Pune broke that unwanted drought, the fighting draw in Ranchi may well have given Smith more satisfaction given the content of his speeches in Colombo and Hobart, and his players' subsequent willingness to jump 'into the trenches' with their skipper, and perhaps more importantly, even after he fell early on day five.

Particularly considering Australia headed into the final day two wickets down – both from balls Jadeja spun violently off a wearing track – and 129 runs away from making India bat again with no prospect of weather assisting their cause.

It was a far cry from the cataclysmic collapse on day one in Hobart, and a resounding statement from a couple of middle-order men who were desperate to show their captain that he did indeed have troops who were "willing to get into the contest".

All of which means even if Australia don't prevail in the series-decider in Dharamsala and his side doesn't become just the third touring team to win a Test series in India this century, Smith will have good reason to believe what they are doing is working. 

Test Squads

India (for fourth Test): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Mohammed Shami.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 23-27, First Test, Pune – Australia won by 333 runs.

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru – India won by 75 runs.

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi – match drawn.

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala