Australia struggled with bat and ball in Mohali yesterday as India took a strong grip on the second Test. Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin will resume their sixth-wicket partnership of 83 this morning, but, with 375 more runs needed for victory on the final day, survival is the best that the visiting side can contemplate.

Since the end of the 2005 Ashes, Ricky Ponting’s men have played 27 Tests and won 22 of them, including a 16-match winning streak, but a morning of aggressive batting by India, followed by three quick wickets for Harbhajan Singh, Australia’s old nemesis, means that Ponting faces only his second defeat in the past three years, the previous one coming against India in Perth last winter.

Australia’s pace attack, none of whom had played a Test in India before this tour, struggled against the home batsmen, who added 214 in 42 overs yesterday. Virender Sehwag was caught on 90, but Gautam Gambhir made his first Test century in almost four years before being caught trying to hit Cameron White over mid-off.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the acting captain, promoted himself to No 3 to hurry along the scoring rate and, having made 68 in 84 balls, declared at 314 for three, setting Australia a target of 516 in little more than four sessions.

Australia took up the challenge when they batted, reaching 49 in seven overs, but the loss of Matthew Hayden, leg-before to Harbhajan, sparked a collapse to 58 for five by the end of the seventeenth over. Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, defended his side’s aggressive approach, saying: “Trying to bat for nine or ten hours and just saving your wicket makes it very difficult. Our challenge was to put pressure down by scoring runs and knocking the bowlers off their length.”

New Zealand have an easier task than Australia on the last day of their first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong, but failure would be embarrassing given that Bangladesh’s only Test victory came against Zimbabwe almost four years ago.

The home side were dismissed for 242 in their second innings, with Mashrafe Mortaza, the No 9 batsman, making 44 before being stumped to give Aaron Redmond his first Test wicket. New Zealand, requiring 317 to win, reached 145 for two by stumps, with Jamie How bowled for 36 and Jesse Ryder run out for 38. Redmond, playing in only his fourth Test, had reached 62, his maiden fifty.