Boxing Day blog: Classless Kohli's Konstas clash dominates as Test locked in balance

Will he get banned for the final Test in Sydney? Will he get a fine? Will the ICC drop the ball and let him get away with it?

Konstas had the last laugh to some extent with an exhilarating half century that included some amazing - and ridiculous - shots.

Steve Smith (68 not out) holds the key for the Aussies. If he can score a century then it will be advantage Australia.

If Jasprit Bumrah can add to his three wickets it could be advantage India.

TRAVIS HEAD - You know he's doing something right when people who say they don't like cricket start sending you TikToks about him. Travis Head has carried Australia's batting order throughout the series, scoring 409 runs at average of 81.80, highlighted by back-to-back centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane while the top order struggles.

You wonder how he will feel about the occasion of Boxing Day against India this time around. Four years ago, scores of 38 and 17 saw Head forced out of the Australian team after an eight-wicket thrashing at the hands of India at the MCG.

But he forced his way back into the fold and arrives in Melbourne as Australia's most important player, armed with a fearless approach against a menacing quick. Blink and you'll miss him piling up the runs, because Head doesn't mess around.

TENSIONS ARE RISING - Keep your cool, Virat.

Indian star Virat Kohli would do well to recall the advice Tim Paine once offered him during a Test match, because the under-fire batter might be starting to crack.

He berated a reporter at Melbourne Airport - despite no footage being captured of his children - what he believed to be a breach of privacy in a public place. Then Australian reporters were denied the opportunity to ask Ravindra Jadeja a question at a media conference, where he only answered in Hindi.

And how could we forget the mind games between Marnus Labuschagne and Mohammed Siraj, or the blow-up between Siraj and Travis Head, when the Indian gave the Australian a send-off - despite the fact he'd just scored 140.

THE FAST BOWLERS - Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has taken 21 wickets in three Tests. Without him, the touring side's attack can almost seem toothless. With him, they look like world-beaters - and he might just be the best on the planet.

"Certainly across all three formats he is. It's hard to argue with the numbers he is putting up at the moment," former Australian captain Tim Paine said.

But for the home side, Scott Boland returns to the site of his famous Test debut, where he captured 6-7 against England.

If that wasn't enough for him to get a statue outside the ground - and believe me, there were calls - another stellar showing against India might be.

ONE HAND ON THE TROPHY? - It's almost hard to believe it has been a decade since Michael Clarke hobbled to the 408 painted on the turf and raised his bat to the heavens, David Warner scored twin tons, and Nathan Lyon spun Australia to the most unlikely of Test victories played against the backdrop of Phillip Hughes' death.

But the last time Lyon got his hands on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Brad Haddin was still keeping. So "that tells you how long it's been". India have won back-to-back series on Australian soil, and beating India looming as one of the biggest goals this star-studded Australian team is yet to tick off.

The winner in Melbourne will go a long way towards clinching the series with just one Test to play in Sydney, and the series victor edges closer to a place in the World Test Championship final.