That he was more artisan than artiste hardly detracted from the quality and significance of VVS Laxman's vital contribution. Alongside the admirable Irfan Pathan, the sinewy right-hander played the lead role as India continued their charge towards an improbable victory at the WACA on Friday.

Strange are the ways of pressure. The burden of responding to the challenge of being forced on to the back foot can overwhelm most; some rise above the ordinary, feeding off adversity. The man who has always looked pressure squarely in the eye reiterated the strength of his character to repel Australia's strong first-session charge on the middle day of the third Test.

No gainsaying

There is no gainsaying how the day would have panned out had Laxman's 79 not rallied the lower middle-order and the tail around him after the top had been creamed off by the pace and swing of Brett Lee and the intelligence of Stuart Clark. In the event, India had -- in the final analysis -- another very good day in office, asking Australia to successfully chase the second highest fourth-innings total ever in their bid to pull off a record 17th successive Test win.

India's battling second-innings 294 left Ricky Ponting's men with a target of 413. In 15 gripping overs to stumps, the hosts were rocked by an inspired Pathan, who carried on from his entertaining 46 as nightwatchman with the scalps of openers Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques. At 65 for two, Australia need a further 348; Saturday will be tense and dramatic, as well as historic if a result eventuates.

Tension and high drama were on full view on the third day, wickedly overcast for the most part before the sun came out to greet India's bowlers late in the evening. 52 for one overnight for an overall lead of 170, India lost their way in the first couple of hours as Australia, stung by the questioning of their hegemony, came at them with a vengeance.

Unsurprisingly, Lee and Clark were at the forefront, almost compensating for the total listlessness of Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait, whose profligacy and ineffectiveness completely tied Ponting's hands. Express paceman Tait was touted as an 'impact bowler' on Test eve; he finished with nought for 92 from 21 overs in two innings combined. How's that for Impact?!

If you are looking for impact, look at Pathan and Laxman, at Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rudra Pratap Singh, and of course Lee and Clark. Even as Australia's two most reliable bowlers were working over India's famed middle-order, Pathan kept one end going. Unfazed by the mayhem, the left-hander put his head down and put the bad balls away. It was no nightwatchman stuff; there was a lesson in it for the beefy middle-order, which again miserably failed the second-innings test. Between them, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly managed three, and Sachin Tendulkar fell short of his niggardly second-innings average of 16 in Australia.

Numbers

Laxman has never had an eye for numbers. Come to think of it, placing numbers against his name is almost an insult to his regal batsmanship. He was involved in three vital partnerships -- a middling, consolidating 35 with Pathan, an innings-retrieving 75 with Dhoni and a final flourish of 51 for the ninth with Rudra Pratap, characterised by the intelligence and skill with which he shielded number ten from the dangerous Lee.

125 for five when he strode in to bat, Laxman was the constant as the last five added 169. After losing Pathan soon after lunch, the Hyderabadi guided Dhoni through a demanding early period when the vice-captain struggled to get the ball off the square. To Dhoni's credit, he kept his wits about him, gradually shedding hesitancy as Australia, seriously behind the over rate, were forced to rely on spinners Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds.

Symonds' twin strikes at the stroke of tea necessitated Laxman to re-assess the situation. Identifying Lee as the most potent Aussie weapon, he studiedly kept Rudra Pratap away from the New South Welshman; Rudra Pratap responded in stirring fashion, more than holding his own in the hour and a quarter association that swelled the lead past the 400-mark.

Last man out, Laxman's dismissal was timely from India's perspective, giving them an hour's crack at the Aussies.
While both Rudra Pratap and Ishant Sharma looked a tad excitable, Pathan was again outstanding, curling the ball away from the left-handers and having both Rogers and Jaques caught driving outside off.

India have their noses in front, but if any team can get to 413, it's Australia. What a mouth-watering fourth day in store!

SCORE BOARD

INDIA (I Innings): 330

AUSTRALIA (I Innings): 212

INDIA (II Innings, o/n: 52/1):

Jaffer c Hussey b Clark 11
(44m, 27b, 1x4)
Sehwag b Clark 43
(87m, 61b, 7x4)
Pathan c Ponting b Clark 46
(136m, 64b, 6x4)
Dravid c Gilchrist b Lee 3
(4m, 5b)
Tendulkar lbw Lee 13
(34m, 25b, 2x4)
Ganguly c Clarke b Johnson 0
(7m, 3b)
Laxman c Gilchrist b Lee 79
(230m, 156b, 8x4)
Dhoni c Gilchrist b Symonds 38
(101m, 87b, 2x4, 2x6)
Kumble c Clarke b Symonds 0
(3m, 4b)
RP Singh c Gilchrist b Clark 30
(73m, 59b, 3x4, 1x6)
Ishant (not out) 4
(6m, 1b, 1x4)
Extras (LB-14, W-5, NB-8) 27
Total (all out, 80.4 overs) 294
Fall of wickets: 1-45 (Jaffer), 2-79 (Sehwag), 3-82 (Dravid), 4-116 (Tendulkar), 5-125 (Ganguly), 6-160 (Pathan), 7-235 (Dhoni), 8-235 (Kumble), 9-286 (RP Singh).
Bowling: Lee 20.4-4-54-3 (w-1, nb-4), Johnson 10-0-58-1, Clark 19-4-61-4 (w-2), Tait 8-0-33-0 (w-2, nb-4), Clarke 13-2-38-0, Symonds 10-2-36-2.

AUSTRALIA (II Innings):

Rogers c Dhoni b Pathan 15
(23m, 18b, 3x4)
Jaques c Jaffer b Pathan 16
(47m, 30b, 3x4)
Ponting (batting) 24
(48m, 27b, 2x4)
Hussey (batting) 5
(24m, 16b, 1x4)
Extras (LB-3, W-1, NB-1) 5
Total (for 2 wkts, 15 overs) 65
Fall of wickets: 1-21 (Rogers), 2-43 (Jaques).
Bowling: RP Singh 5-1-24-0 (w-1), Irfan Pathan 6-1-22-2, Ishant Sharma 3-0-10-0 (nb-1), Anil Kumble 1-0-6-0.