Fighting back through debutant Washington Sundar and a man making a second debut of sorts in Shardul Thakur, India scored 336 in their first innings in reply to Australia’s 369 on day three of the series-deciding fourth Test in Brisbane on Sunday.

Washington (62) and Thakur (67) added 123 runs for the seventh wicket after India lost four wickets earlier in the day and stared at a massive deficit.

Resuming at 62/2, skipper Ajinkya Rahane (37) was edgy but watchful till he went for a flashy drive off Mitchell Starc and ended up getting caught in the slip cordon. Before his dismissal, Cheteshwar Pujara (25) fell to a peach of a delivery off Josh Hazlewood in the opening session.

Brisbane Test: Ravi Shastri’s words inspired my batting performance, says Shardul Thakur

In the second session, India lost Mayank Agarwal (38) and Rishabh Pant (23) and innings seemed to be falling apart but Washington and Thakur resisted the Australian attack with aplomb. It was not just a story of resilient defending, but once they got going, the duo played some flamboyant strokes too.

Thakur’s combative knock ended when Pat Cummins went through his gates while Washington was dismissed by Starc in the final session. And after some entertainment from Mohammed Siraj, India finished on 336, to script another sensational chapter in this series of fightbacks.