WhenBrad Haddin walked out to the centre of the MCG on Monday, Australia were ahead by 241 runs. They were calling the shots. India had bowled better than they had all series. Ishant Sharma and R Ashwin had actually managed to create some pressure. But the visitors were not only in the deficit here in the third Test, they still trailed 0-2 in the series, having lost the first two matches.

To boot, Haddin had thwarted their bouncer barrage in the first innings. He had scored his first half-century since January. Yet, as he reached the crease, waiting for him was Virat Kohli, scraping the floor with his boots like a matador. He remained there even as the Australian wicket-keeper marked his guard, chattering away incessantly. Then almost as if out of obligation he decided to move away, ambling across to short-cover. So slow was he that play was held up for a couple of minutes.

Yes, we all knew what Kohli was trying to do. He was getting into Haddin’s face and under his skin. He was telling him that he was in for a fight. But the scenario that the match was in, his action looked more silly than laudable. More brash than bold. And it certainly was unwarranted. In many ways, Kohli’s unceremonious welcome to Haddin also exemplified the banality of most of India’s untoward belligerence on the field during this series. For, on most occasions, it’s seemed nothing more than churlish.

The Australians are hard taskmasters when it comes to judging sport. They are an obstinate, hard-to-please lot. But Kohli & Co have won them over in the last month or so. They’ve done so by playing some extremely attractive cricket. The kind of cricket that warms Aussie hearts: aggressive, fast-paced, entertaining, in-your-face with no quarters given or taken. The Adelaide Oval warmed up to Kohli and Murali Vijay, and actually empathised with them when they fell agonisingly short in the first Test. And the MCG faithful were regaled by the chalk-and-cheese combination of Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane as they took on the might of Mitchell Johnson head-on on Sunday.

And it’s been one of the major takeaways from this tour. The intent of this young Indian team to shed their good-boy image along with their inhibitions and give back as good as they have got.

Along the way, India have won new admirers for their brand of cricket. The Channel 9 commentary box for one has been raving about how the likes of Kohli, Rahane and Vijay are among the most eye-catching young batsmen in world cricket, simply because of how they blend convention and technique with unabashed offense. And look damn good while doing so. But even they have at times sounded quizzical about the visitors’ unyielding penchant to go overboard on the field.

It’s good that India haven’t taken a backward step against the perennially marauding Australians. That they’ve stood toe to toe. But they’ve stretched themselves too far in that quest, and lost track of the line separating the positive from the obnoxious.

Like they did with Haddin when he arrived on Day Four. Not to forget their send-off to Johnson later in the day with Ishant Sharma dishing the fiery pacer a mouthful. Earlier in the day, even the generally genial Cheteshwar Pujara had found it pertinent to exchange words with David Warner at the start of Australia’s second innings. By the time Johnson fell to a meek pull-shot, he had added 32 crucial runs with Shaun Marsh, and taken the lead to the cusp of 300, a score that would give enough incentive for him to run in like the wind on Day Five. Yet, India were keen on not letting him leave without a dramatic farewell. It’s after all been a theme of their on-field demeanour Down Under.

But the fact remains that they have little to show for it in the overall scheme of things. The Australians have outdone them on the field. In fact, at times their over-zealousness has backfired. Like it did with Johnson at the Gabba when he blew them away on the fourth morning. This after Rohit Sharma had welcomed him to the crease by politely inquiring about the number of wickets he had taken till then. As it turns out Rohit is warming the bench at MCG while Johnson is slated to run through the Indians again. And what about Varun Aaron’s ‘come on’ ‘come on’ outburst after bowling Warner off a no-ball with Australia holding all the aces in Adelaide?

‘Crossing lines’

In the past, Indian teams are used to coming Down Under and lamenting about copping an opulence of verbals from the Aussies. Ironically, Warner, the cheerleader of Australia’s present ‘mental disintegration’ department, turned up for the press conference on Monday and spoke about how Kohli might have been ‘crossing lines’.

“I didn’t see what they said to Mitchell Johnson but obviously Kohli was lurking around Brad Haddin. If that’s the way he wants to go about his cricket then let him be,” he said.

When asked about where that ‘line’ was, Warner joked, “You can draw it right here mate. It’s a figure of speech isn’t it?”

For now, India desperately need to find their line first before maybe consciously working on not stepping over it.