Australia ready to inflict more pain on Duncan Fletcher and India as they target a whitewash

Gautam Gambhir is little better, while Kohli has scored just 43 runs in four innings. There has not been a century anywhere.

So Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, whose dropping of a few catches has not silenced his sledging, has weighed in by observing that India “break quicker than anyone in the world” when under pressure.

Good on Zaheer Khan for retorting: “Brad Haddin should focus on his keeping. That looks really fragile to me.”

The truth, however, is that while India can draw some inspiration from a victory in Perth on their last tour in 2007/08, also when 2-0 down, there is a distinct possibility that this series could end 4-0, just as the calamitous Test series against England did last summer.

After some good performances at home against the West Indies – winning the Test series 2-0 and the one-day series 4-1 – and indeed a 5-0 one-day success over England, the age-old frailties abroad have resurfaced.

Quite simply, they don’t like it up ’em, a situation which is likely to be exaggerated on the bouncy surface at the Waca.

They will be helped, though, by the absence of the injured James Pattinson, the young fast bowler who scattered them to all parts in the first two Tests. He has joined Pat Cummins and Mitchell Johnson on the long-term injury list and is replaced by Ryan Harris.

Fletcher knew of these potential difficulties when taking the job. The leaving of some legends was always going to take place on his watch.

He was excited by the young talent, and it blossomed in that recent one-day series against England. It is with them that he can do his best work, and he is only eight months into a two-year task.

As his Australian counterpart, Mickey Arthur, said: “Technically Duncan is one of the best I’ve spoken to. He knows the game inside out.”

Before taking the job Fletcher talked long and hard with his predecessor Gary Kirsten, and has been careful not to alter the team’s regime from that which helped them scale the summit of the Test rankings and to win the World Cup. Kirsten would have taken them go-karting, too.

Besides, the tourists are due a day or two off. Since last summer, their treadmill has not stopped. After the fourth Test they play eight ODIs in a triangular tournament with the hosts and Sri Lanka, and a possible best-of-three final in March.

It may get worse before it gets better, for Fletcher and for his team.

Andrew Strauss finds form as England close in on victory target against ICC Combined XI

Strauss and Alastair Cook took advantage of the absence of injured strike bowler Hamid Hassan in an opening stand of 63 in less than 12 overs until the latter was much too early on a pull in Craig Williams' first over and fell to a fine catch by Majid Haq.

Jonathan Trott was in grave danger of departing caught down the leg-side for the second time in the match, this time for a duck, until the umpires concluded the edge off Boyd Rankin had not quite carried.

Strauss dominated the second-wicket stand, bringing up his 67-ball 50 with his 11th four. But he too was to pay for an aerial pull, off Haq.

Kevin Pietersen then managed only a single before falling to a tumbling catch by Rankin at mid-on off his Irish compatriot George Dockrell, the second wicket in the space of six balls.

Trott and Ian Bell steadied the chase again either side of tea, but neither could complete the assignment.

Trott's attempt to dominate Mohammad Nabi (three for 66) failed when he reined in to defence from up the wicket and fell to a sharp bat-pad catch at short leg.

Eoin Morgan went cheaply to Rankin, the latest of several in this match to fall to a catch behind down the leg-side.

Then after Bell's bizarre dismissal, paddle-sweeping Nabi via a deflection into the hands of slip running round to the leg-side, at 199 for six the outcome was in the balance.

But Broad and Davies, who survived one close call off Nabi with a half-chance to wide mid-off on 20, did not panic.

Broad had a moment of fortune too, reprieved with 18 still needed by a poor throw and Nabi's failure to gather when he seemed sure to be run out.

The seventh-wicket pair were therefore able to settle the match in a stand of 61 - with almost nine overs to spare, even though Broad holed out with scores level.

Earlier, Mohammad Shahzad's second 50 of the match had frustrated England this morning.

Broad (three for 22) struck in the fifth over of the day, to take his match haul to seven wickets, when Nabi mis-pulled to mid-off.

But Shahzad again looked in control. He brought up his 76-ball half-century with an edge wide of the slips for his ninth four, in a James Anderson over which cost 16 runs.

He had been joined by Christi Viljoen, whose match tally went past 100 following his first-innings 98 before he was run out when he was sent back for a single and unable to beat a throw from Monty Panesar - on as a substitute fielder for Graeme Swann.

Shahzad then aimed one big shot too many at Pietersen's stand-in off-spin, holing out at long-off - and after Rankin missed a swipe at Steven Finn, Will Porterfield called his batsmen in.

- Swann did not bowl and stayed off the field with tightness in a leg muscle, until coming out to bat with one run required.