Virat Kohli's jaw drops two balls later as Gautam Gambhir leaps out of his seat as Akash Deep and Bumrah help India avoid follow-on.

Just as Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah helped prevent follow-on, the Indian dressing room, which included Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, was a sight to behold.

India's performance on Day 4 of the third Test match of the series against Australia in Brisbane on Tuesday makes them winners even if they don't win this Test match going forward. The main concern going into Day 4 was whether India, with a score of 51/4, could escape the follow-on. When they lost their ninth wicket for 213, they were still 33 behind, and it appeared unlikely that they would win.

However, an outstanding rear-guard performance by Jasprit Bumrah and, more crucially, Akash Deep, enabled India to surpass the 246-run threshold, guaranteed Australia would bat again, and sparked optimism for what looks to be a tie as significant as a victory.

Hours after a reporter questioned Bumrah's batting abilities, the India pacer defended his comments by going undefeated on 10 off 27 after receiving a suitable response. His partner Akash Deep, however, was the biggest surprise as he hit the most of the runs (27 off 31 balls) in their undefeated partnership of 39 off 54 balls, which helped India reach 252/9 at stumps. With three periods remaining in the match and rain predicted on Wednesday, India is 99.9 percent to win in Melbourne, tying Australia 1-1.

The prospects were limited because more than 30 were required. Until Bumrah got the crowd moving by giving Pat Cummins a six. The ball soon began to land in the center of Akash's bat. Runs started to arrive with authority. To get the required number of runs to within ten, Akash and Bumrah ran incredibly well and got a lot of doubles. With four runs remaining, Akash threw Cummins over the slip cordon an over later, igniting a frenzy in the Indian dressing room. Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, remained still until he sprung from his chair in joy. As usual, Virat Kohli joined in with forceful high fives.