Clarke's back adds to tourists' woes The magic three-figure milestone: Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan reached it in Mohali, even Nathan Lyon (with the ball) ... it's just Australia's batsmen who have been falling short. The last thing Australia needed, on this tour never to be spoken of again, was for Michael Clarke to break down. But that was the concern facing the visitors late on Sunday as they crumbled to the brink of what - thanks to last Thursday's washout - would effectively be a second successive defeat inside four days. Clarke's back soreness led to Phillip Hughes, Steve Smith and nightwatchman Nathan Lyon being sent in before the captain, after Australia, beginning its second innings after tea, lost the early wickets of David Warner, Ed Cowan and then Smith, too. Australia, at 3-75 and trailing by 16 runs heading into the fifth day, is more than likely toast at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, particularly if Clarke cannot bat. Back issues are not new to him. He picked up this injury in the warm-up (or, according to one sharp social media comment, from carrying Australia for the past year) but the severity was unclear. "He'll undergo further treatment overnight," team physiotherapist Alex Kountouris said. We'll assess that and see how it settles in the morning to determine when he's able to bat. The team needs Clarke now more than ever after India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar made mincemeat of the top order in the final hour on Sunday. Warner (2) lasted only three balls, before slashing carelessly and catching a fatal edge, and Cowan (8) and Smith (5) did not hang around much longer. Almost inconceivably, it is Hughes (53 not out) holding the cards for Australia. He has had a wretched tour but raced to a run-a-ball fifty, resisting successfully the likes of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who have terrorised him for the past three weeks. The 24-year-old had managed only 27 runs in five innings before walking out on Sunday and may as well have had his eyes shut in the process, such was his inability to cope with spin in foreign conditions. All of a sudden the left-hander, some confidence restored, is in a position to not only save his immediate Test career but maybe even this match. Led by the tireless Peter Siddle (5-71), Australia had earlier bowled out India for 499, with the Victorian in the process moving inside the country's top 20 wicket-takers with his seventh five-wicket haul. Siddle worked his backside off, running himself into the ground like the beaten-up Punjabi auto-rickshaws spluttering outside the ground. Few players conduct their business with such an outward emotional investment in the team. In the afternoon, Siddle could be seen shaking his fists after his follow-through, urging substitute fielder Glenn Maxwell to shave the fraction of a second off his chase to the ball required to convince the batsmen to turn down a second run. There was only so much Smith could do about restricting the scoring. He has already shown his wares as a rejuvenated batsman in this match but his leg-spin bowling leaves a lot to be desired. Ideally, he would not be required at all. Clarke, as a part-timer, is arguably as useful as Australia's two specialist spinners in Mohali. However, the captain's crook back, which forced him off the field on Sunday and left Brad Haddin briefly in charge, means he is as interested in bowling right now as he is in contracting dengue fever. Smith hardly even bowls for NSW these days and it shows. He has the odd wonder ball in him - he managed to do a Cameron White and remove the great Sachin Tendulkar with his first ball of the day, right on lunch - but by the afternoon it was a wonder he could land two deliveries on the same spot. It was arguably the loosest bowling in this part of the world since J.W. Howard on a Pakistani plateau eight years ago. Australia did well, however, to restrict India to a first-innings lead of 91. After failing to capture a wicket in two sessions on Saturday it claimed 10 in not much more time on Sunday. "I think there was a bit more fight today," Siddle said. We knew we had to go out there and bowl to our plans and slow it down and put a bit of pressure back on them which I think we did. A few wickets tonight set us back, but we will turn up tomorrow and see how we go. How Australia copes, three wickets down, and minus a fully functioning Clarke or the captain at all, will be the question on Monday. Almost certainly the Border-Gavaskar Trophy cannot be retained, but what could be regained is some respect. "I think he'll definitely bat," Siddle said. It (Clarke's back) was very sore throughout the day. Everyone knows he's had a bit of trouble with his back. Knowing Michael he'll do everything he can tonight with Alex and be ready to go tomorrow morning as soon as possible, no doubt. He'll want to get out there first-up. I think he'll be ready to go. Australia (1st innings) 408 India (1st Innings - overnight 0-283) M VIJAY lbw b Starc 153 S DHAWAN c Cowan b Lyon 187 C PUJARA lbw b Siddle 1 S TENDULKAR c Cowan b Smith 37 V KOHLI not out 67 M DHONI lbw b Starc 4 R JADEJA c Haddin b Siddle 8 R ASHWIN c Haddin b Siddle 4 B KUMAR c Haddin b Henriques 18 I SHARMA c Haddin b Siddle 0 P OJHA b Siddle 1 Sundries (5b, 13lb, 1nb) 19 Total 499 Fall of wickets: 289 (Dhawan), 292 (Pujara), 384 (Tendulkar), 412 (Vijay), 416 (Dhoni), 427 (Jadeja), 431 (Ashwin), 492 (Kumar), 493 (Sharma), 499 (Ojha) Bowling: M Starc 23-5-74-2, P Siddle 29.1-9-71-5 (1nb), M Henriques 15-1-62-1, N Lyon 31-4-124-1, X Doherty 24-8-87-0, S Smith 10-0-63-1 Australia (2nd Innings) D WARNER c Dhoni b Kumar 2 E COWAN lbw b Kumar 8 P HUGHES not out 53 S SMITH b Kumar 5 N LYON not out 4 Sundries (2lb, 1nb) 3 Total (3 wkts - close) 75 Fall of wickets: 2 (Warner), 35 (Cowan), 55 (Smith) Bowling: B Kumar 8-1-25-3, I Sharma 2-0-11-0 (1nb), R Ashwin 7-2-25-0, R Jadeja 2-1-11-0, P Ojha 2-1-1-0