Matthew Hayden scored his second century of the series on Saturday to equal Don Bradman's career tally of 29 Test hundreds and provide Australia with a glimmer of hope of pressing ahead for victory over India in the second Test.
The left-handed opener followed up his hundred from last week's first Test win in Melbourne with a stylish 123 to guide Australia to 282 for four at stumps in their second innings.
They accepted an offer to go off early for bad light on the fourth day at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Mike Hussey was also closing in on a century after ending the day unbeaten on 87 with all-rounder Andrew Symonds on 14 and Australia 213 runs ahead after trailing by 69 on the first innings.
Australia started the day on 13-0 and looking to score quick runs in the hope of pushing for a victory to equal their own world record of 16 consecutive Test wins.
But their chances suffered a setback when they lost two wickets before lunch and two after tea while play was delayed three times because of rain.
A draw is now looming as the most likely result with more showers forecast on Sunday, although Hayden and Hussey have given Australia the chance of possibly making an early declaration to push for victory on the last day.
HITTING POWER
Hayden batted with a runner for most of his innings after injuring his right thigh but the problem did not affect his hitting power.
The Queenslander raced to his hundred off 160 balls and cracked a dozen boundaries in his 291-minute before he was caught by Wasim Jaffer off Anil Kumble in the last session.
Kumble then dismissed Michael Clarke for a golden duck when he found the edge and Rahul Dravid held a sharp catch at slip.
Hussey was dropped by Yuvraj Singh on 41 on the last ball of the morning session and made the Indians pay for their mistake by cruising past his half-century and sharing a 160-run partnership with Hayden.
The pair had come together early in the day after opener Phil Jaques departed for 42 and Ricky Ponting fell for one.
Jaques put on 85 with Hayden for the opening wicket but threw his wicket away when he holed out to Yuvraj in the deep off Kumble. Ponting was caught by VVS Laxman at silly point off the bowling of Harbhajan Singh.
The India off-spinner has dismissed the Australian captain eight times in eight Tests and celebrated his latest success in boisterous fashion with an animated sprint towards the dressing rooms.
Harbhajan scored a half-century in India's first innings of 532 but is facing a charge of racial abuse after Ponting lodged a complaint against him following an incident with Symonds on Friday.
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