1-1, 50-50, 433-10

So India want victory, improbable as it may be, with 10 wickets to be taken in three sessions over 90 overs, with rain promising to ruin this parade. But Tuesday is just not about victory, about clenched fists, crossed fingers and genuflecting hopefully in front of personal gods. It is a day not to just expect from this team but to enjoy them, to marvel at their deeds, to consider their courage, to remember their fine skills. For tomorrow they will be gone.

Australia, said Simon Katich, a foot-shuffling leftie whose stubbornness blunted some of India’s ambitions on Monday, will not see their 443 (now 433) target as insurmountable. We’ll be positive, said Katich; it is a word they go to sleep with and wake up to, but also speak by rote.

They will know that 418, by the West Indies against them last year in Antigua, was the greatest fourth innings target ever achieved; they will know that the biggest run chase in the fourth innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground was a mere 275, in 1898. But these men do not fear history, they make it, though in this series so far the Indians have been the ones keeping the chroniclers occupied.

Rahul Dravid had his ear torn slightly when it, and his skull, collided with a Brett Lee delivery later in the day, and clearly being married to a surgeon has its uses. But even his manly moistening of the pitch with his blood does not look like it will give it life. As Dravid said, his ear sporting a couple of stitches: ‘‘It’s still a good wicket. The cracks aren’t wide and we hoped they would have opened up more. Hopefully on the last day it might play a few tricks.’’

The only advantage is some rough on the leg-side and, predictably, the ball this morning will not so much be handed to but grabbed by a leg-spinner, with a big toe-nail missing from his foot and violence in his mind. Anil Kumble finished Monday with 8-141 (20 for the series), and only an accomplishment as outrageous will suffice for India. As Katich stated the obvious with a straight face: ‘‘Kumble is going to be the biggest challenge’’.

India’s task was made more arduous by a frustrating morning’s resistance by the Katich-Jason Gillespie partnership (117 runs) and some debatable tactics by Ganguly. Parliaments have seen less strenuous debates than in the press box. Having dismissed Brett Lee quickly, the Indians targeted Gillespie, spreading the field to allow Katich singles and bring the fast bowler back on strike.

But with Australia still 300-odd runs behind, some saw it as a defensive strategy at a moment that demanded a more attacking invention. It almost signaled to Katich that he was immoveable, granting a 28-year-old semi-rookie more exalted status than he deserved.

To be fair, both batted impressively, Kumble was mostly unassisted, but what that session ensured was that enforcing the follow-on was pointless. Australia, at 474 all out, was too close to India’s score and batting on the fifth day a distinctly unpleasant thought. Furious Ganguly critics might, however, remember that while his team scored 705, his amputated attack dismissed Australia for far less. Presumably, they did something right.

Leading by 231, India strove to quickly accelerate the score, Virender Sehwag (47 in 50 balls) predictably constructing some hilarious strokes unrecognized by traditional cricket followers. In these parts, a single one of his shots is considered to be worth the price of any ticket.

Steve Waugh, whose farewell has so far resembled a wake, did his aggressive reputation no good either by ordering Stuart MacGill to bowl a negative line. It deterred the Indians briefly, but eventually Dravid, whose appetite for runs on this tour is verging on the greedy (91 not out yesterday), and Sachin Tendulkar (60 not out) lashed the ball around, India declaring at 2-211. The chase was on.

So it comes down to this last final day, a finish worthy of a spectacular contest over several weeks. What India has done in Australia is to produce a performance mostly beyond our fevered imaginations. Anticipated dismay has been replaced with gleeful surprise. Perhaps one last one is left.