Harbhajan Singh has a habit of irritating Australia, sometimes with the ball and sometimes with his confident talk. But after Mitchell Johnson's four strikes on the third day seemingly assured the visitors of a big first-innings lead, it was with the bat that Harbhajan provided Australia with a serious headache. They still had a 117-run advantage at stumps but Harbhajan's fighting 54 lit a spark that for two and a half days had been noticeably absent in the India camp.

His 80-run stand with Zaheer Khan was the biggest and fastest partnership of India's innings. They attacked at every opportunity. When Harbhajan audaciously slapped Stuart Clark to long-on for a boundary to bring up his half-century - his third against Australia in his past three Tests against them - he thrust his bat skywards several times, willing his team-mates and the crowd to show some spirit. He had certainly done that himself.

He threw the bat when Brett Lee bounced him, pulling and top-edging boundaries; he advanced to Clark; he warded off the spin of Michael Clarke with ease. His luck did not hold and he top-edged Shane Watson behind late in the day but with the equally bold Zaheer, he had at least shown Australia the match was not theirs just yet.

Australia had the game under control for most of the day as India's specialist batsmen found the going tough against Johnson and Lee. The pitch wasn't just two-paced, it was two-faced. For Harbhajan and Zaheer it was benign; for Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly it was severely challenging.

The variable bounce was exploited by Johnson, who entered the series as Australia's least in-form fast man and he was under pressure from his fellow left-armer Doug Bollinger. After Johnson's first full day of bowling, Bollinger can make alternative plans for next week's second Test.

Johnson was the man who kept Australia on track for the first two sessions after India began the day at 68 for 0. His exhausting nine-over spell in the morning brought three huge wickets - Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman - and he returned after tea to add a composed-looking Ganguly. It was an outstanding return to Test cricket for Johnson, who had a poor series this year in the West Indies.

It's worth noting that he has prior form in India, where he was destructive in last year's ODI series and collected 14 wickets at 18.57. But repeating the success at Test level is a major step forward. He was helped by the cracking pitch and he aimed at the fissures, sometimes getting balls to stay low or seam away.

Johnson was swamped by his team-mates when he deceived Tendulkar, who had played a couple of gorgeous drives through the off side. But when he tried to do the same again, Tendulkar failed to pick up Johnson's slower ball and lobbed a catch to cover point on 13. It was a remarkably similar dismissal to two of Ishant Sharma's successes on the second day, when Cameron White was one of the victims. White was pleased to take the catch that confirmed one of the world's greatest could make the same mistake.

The removal of Laxman for a 12-ball duck was more straightforward as the batsman got a thin edge to a delivery that angled across and seamed a fraction away. Johnson had a bit of good fortune too; Sehwag's wild flail at a wide, fullish ball that flew off his edge to first slip was more batsman error than good bowling.

Especially pleasing for Johnson was that he found some reverse swing after tea and trapped Ganguly lbw for 47. It was a rotten bit of luck for Ganguly, who was probably struck outside the line - although at first view it looked a reasonable shout - from the first ball after he had a concentration-breaking interruption due to a nosebleed.

But there were some positive signs from Ganguly, who had questions over his place in the side and was playing his first innings since announcing that this Test series would be his last. Apart from one loose waft outside off stump - and he chastised himself furiously for it - he displayed impressive focus.

He occupied the crease for 115 balls and struck only three fours, instead taking his time on a tricky surface. India looked at their most resilient when he and Dravid combined for a 49-run stand but the frustration was that neither man capitalised in the same way Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting had for Australia.

Gerard Denton is likely to make his return to Sheffield Shield cricket with Tasmania after being named in the Tigers' squad for their opening two matches. Tasmania begin their four-day campaign against Queensland at the Gabba on Friday followed by a match against Western Australia at the WACA beginning on October 19.

They have named a 13-man group for both games and it includes the fast bowler Denton, 33. He began his career with Tasmania but spent the past four summers with Victoria before heading back to his home state during the off-season.

Denton has added experience to an already strong fast-bowling line-up and there was no room for Brendan Drew for the opening games. The Tigers are already without Adam Griffith, who had a knee reconstruction during the off-season and will miss the whole summer.

The left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty is in line for his first match in the longer format since 2006-07, with the Tigers' first-choice spinner Jason Krejza on tour with Australia. Tasmania will also need to find a new opening pair following the retirement of one of their most reliable contributors, Michael Di Venuto.

Michael Dighton, who opened with Di Venuto in the early stages of last season before being axed, is one likely candidate to go out first. He could be joined by Travis Birt, the wicketkeeper Tim Paine or Rhett Lockyear, who is a chance for his first matches at first-class level since 2004-05.

South Australia have given up on placing weight and fitness restrictions on Mark Cosgrove but the batsman is still in danger of missing out on the state's opening games due to form concerns. Cosgrove, the most recent South Australia batsman to play for Australia, was dropped from the first-class team towards the end of last season.

Despite working solidly on his game and his fitness during the off-season, he was not chosen in a 16-man squad that played a series of practice matches in Queensland during the past week. Jamie Cox, South Australia's high performance manager, said Cosgrove needed to find form but remained in the mix for the Redbacks' first Sheffield Shield and FR Cup games of the summer.

"We want Mark back playing and playing well, we know that he's a very fine player," Cox told AAP. "But Mark's currency is runs and last year he did not score a hundred in any form of the game and for a bloke of Mark's talent that was seen as not quite good enough.

"We know Mark is an exceptional talent and he will be judged exactly the same way as every other player is judged when it comes to picking teams. From his perspective he missed the opportunity to get some practice up north. His preparation may be affected but I know the selectors have him firmly in mind for any teams that may be picked within the next few days."

Cosgrove played three one-day internationals in 2006 - he was only 21 when he made his debut - and was viewed as a potential future regular in the Australia setup. However, keeping trim has been an ongoing battle for him, as has maintaining the high batting standards he set early in his career.

South Australia begin the season with a one-day game against Victoria in Adelaide on Sunday followed by a Sheffield Shield match also against the Bushrangers. Younis Khan, their star recruit, will be unavailable due to his commitments with Pakistan, but the Redbacks will be boosted by the return of Shaun Tait after his self-enforced break from the game.

"To get him back at his best would solve an enormous amount of anyone's woes," Cox said. "He's not only a premier fast bowler in this team, he's one of the heartbeats, one of the real soul brothers of the team that the guys love to play around."