'Big play' gives Aussies the upper-hand after MCG moment of ...

Steve Smith believes the calamitous mix-up that led to the run out of Indian sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal has given Australia the upper-hand in an MCG Test that is pivotal to the hosts hopes of reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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After steering Australia to its best first innings total this series of 474 with a superb 140, Jaiswal was leading an Indian counterattack until a moment of madness late on Day 2.

The 22-year-old opener and Indian icon Virat Kohli had just posted a century stand to take the tourists to 2-153 when Jaiswal set off for what always appeared a risky single after hitting the ball towards Australian captain Pat Cummins at mid-on.

Kohli opted to hold his ground at the non-striker’s end, which left Jaiswal stranded as Cummins threw the ball to wicketkeeper Alex Caey, who removed the bails.

Jaiswal’s departure for 82 sparked a mini-collapse in the final 30 minutes of play, with Kohli and nightwatchman Akash Deep both falling to Victorian paceman Scott Boland to leave India at 5-164, trailing the Australian first innings total by 310 runs.

“It looks like Jaiswal called ‘yes’ and ran and Virat sent him back. It is as simple as that,” Smith said.

“It was obviously a really good partnership to break that one and then obviously get two more wickets. It was a huge last hour for us, so, yeah, that was a big play in the context of the day, I suppose.”

Asked whether Australia would have preferred to bowl to the emerging star or the established legend, who had played a disciplined knock before again edging a delivery outside off stump to Carey to fall for 36, Smith opted against showing the hand of the host nation.

“They were both looking really good,” he said.

“Jaiswal played a nice innings today. (He was) aggressive and he hit any loose ball that was bowled basically. And as I said before, Virat looked like he was in for a bit of a masterclass with the way he started and the patience that he showed.

“So at that stage, we’d probably take (either one) of them. (It was) just fortunate, I suppose. And sometimes when you have one of those things happen and you break a partnership, you can get that other guy out quickly and that happened today, which was good for us.”

Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar, who will bat on Wednesday after India’s hopes of preserving the status quo in a series tied at 1-all nosedived with the collapse, said morale remained strong in the tourists dressing room despite the late disappointment.

The deficit adds to the pressure on skipper Rohit Sharma, who is enduring a horror series with the bat and failed again when falling to Cummins despite promoting himself back to opener for this Test.

“We looked like we were in a great position to get big runs, especially when (Jaiswal and Kohli) were batting, but we’ll still come back and continue to fight tomorrow morning,” Sundar said.

‘The energy is very good in the dressing room. We’re all positive. There’s a long time in the game (left) as well. There’s still three days and a lot for us to play for. So it will just be about us trying to fight really hard and get things done for the team.”

Smith, meanwhile, has moved into equal seventh position on the all-time list of Test centurions and continued his love affair with the MCG when scoring his 34th hundred.

After a lean period, he has bounced back to form with back-to-back centuries in the Gabba and MCG Tests and is now on the verge of joining Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh and Allan Border as the only Australians to score more than 10,000 Test runs.

Having returned to No.4 for this series after playing as an opener against the West Indies and New Zealand at the tail-end of last summer, Smith has regained his peak form and said he had always had faith in his ability to find runs again.

“You just have got to have faith. You got to have a bit of trust in what you’re trying to do. I’ve played the game for long enough now to know that you can have your ups and downs,” he said.

“I think I said to all you guys when I wasn’t scoring the runs, I actually felt like I was batting pretty well. And there’s a difference, I think, between being out of form and out of runs.

“I thought I was hitting the ball nicely, having some faith and confidence (and) I think you need a lot of luck on these wickets to get big runs as well, the ones we’re playing on at the moment.

“Last week I had my my fair share. I think I got an umpires call and got beaten on numerous occasions when, on other days, I’d nick it. So you need a bit of luck.”