Australia-India tensions rising in Ranchi

Australia captain Steve Smith and India skipper Virat Kohli both hit the headlines after a controversial third day of the third Test.

India will resume their first innings at 6-360 on day four against Australia in Ranchi. (AAP)

If any form of peace was brokered between Australia and India's cricket sides before the third Test started, it is clearly over now.

India will resume their first innings at 6-360 on day four, trailing Australia by 91 runs. The four-Test series is level at 1-1 and the stage is set for another tense finish in Ranchi.

Steve Smith and Virat Kohli were ordered to sit down with match referee Richie Richardson following the second Test, one of the most spiteful Tests in the modern era.

Smith and Kohli agreed to improve their respective teams' behaviour. On days one and two of the ongoing contest that was certainly the case, but on Saturday there were a handful of incidents that put all manner of noses out of joint.

Murali Vijay, unhappy with Glenn Maxwell grabbing his right shoulder in an apparent dig at injured India skipper Virat Kohli, put the visitors on notice to expect some blowback.

"Lots of things are happening," Vijay said. "Whatever they are doing, we take it as sportingly.

"There's going to be a second innings, so if they can take it that way, it would be great."

Maxwell grabbed his shoulder after diving to stop a boundary in similar fashion to what Kohli did on day one, when he suffered the injury that kept him off the field for the rest of Australia's innings.

There was also speculation Smith did the same after taking a slips catch to dismiss his counterpart, but another replay confirmed it was actually the hand of a teammate on his shoulder.

Kohli poked fun at Smith when he emerged from India's rooms in the morning session on day three to sarcastically applaud his counterpart's failed review.

"I don't think it was directed at anything, I just think when you lose your two reviews it's a bit of a relief to the opposition and he probably just showed that," Australia's bowling coach David Saker said.

"That's the way he's been playing this series. There's a lot of pressure on him."

Kohli folded with the bat again and now has just 46 runs from five digs in the series.

Kohli and Smith have a history of run-ins, with the most heated coming during the second Test in Bangalore.

Smith accused Kohli of talking "rubbish" last Wednesday, having been surprised to hear his counterpart stood by unsubstantiated claims that Australia systematically cheated in the second Test by looking to the changeroom for advice on reviews.