Shaun Marsh will almost certainly live to fight another day in Australia's Test side after an assured - if not match-winning - knock against India at Adelaide Oval.
Desperately in search of form at Test level, Marsh stroked an impressive 60 from 166 balls to top score for Australia in a tense 31-run defeat in the series-opener.
Marsh had been under enormous pressure to deliver a substantial score after a lean run at Test level extending to 13 innings, but skipper Tim Paine says the 35-year-old can build a platform on his confident knock in the second dig.
A perennial whipping boy whose many detractors had grown even louder when he threw his wicket away in the first innings, Marsh appears highly likely to retain his spot at No.4 for the second Test in his home town of Perth.
"We all know how good he is but I just love the way that he keeps coming when everyone writes him off," Paine said.
"We spoke about it last night; he just keeps coming back and turning up and battling as hard as he possibly can and that can be really hard to do when you are always under the pump from (the media) and always under the pump from the public.
"It just shows how strong a character he is and how good a player he is. He's been in great form the last month or so and I think he is really close to cracking a really big score and winning us some games."
The left-hander was eventually beaten by Jasprit Bumrah, feathering an edge to a supreme delivery which forced him back into his crease.
Marsh spoke briefly with Paine at the non-striker's end but accepted his fate and walked off to warm applause from the Adelaide Oval crowd.
With no other batsman demanding selection at Sheffield Shield level, Marsh's inconsistency at Test level - he averages almost 60 when he passes 10 but 26 of his 61 Test dismissals have been in single figures - is unlikely to cost him.
"He's a nervous starter ... we're working on ways for him to get better at that," coach Justin Langer told ABC Grandstand before play on Monday.
"Throughout his career, when he gets going, there's no better player in the world and his numbers back that up."
Langer conceded finding Australia's best top-three combination was proving difficult after Aaron Finch fell cheaply in both innings.
"We're searching for it - there's no doubt about that," he said.
"If we've got to keep making some changes (we will), because we know how important it is for successful teams."
