Virat Kohli was leading an Indian recovery after the loss of three early wickets to the recharged Australians on the final day of the third Test in Melbourne on Tuesday.
The tourists were reeling after the dismissals of Shikhar Dhawan (0), Lokesh Rahul (1) and Murali Vijay (11) left them 19 for three in the ninth over.
But Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who shared in a record 262-run stand in the first innings, steadied India.
Set 384 runs to win off 70 overs, the tourists went to tea at 104 for three with Kohli on 54 and Rahane not out 33, still trailing Australia by 279 with one session remaining.
Kohli, who has scored three tons and a fifty in the series, was almost run out in the final over before tea but Nathan Lyon did not take the throw and Kohli dived home.  
Rahane also gave a tough chance on 22 with Chris Rogers getting two hands to the ball above his head at point off Johnson.
With a 2-0 series lead, the home side have only to draw the Melbourne Test to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ahead of the fourth and final Test in Sydney next week.
Ryan Harris struck with the second ball of his opening over, trapping Dhawan leg before wicket for a duck.
Johnson backed that up in the next over getting a thick edge off debutant Rahul, promoted to number three, and Shane Watson running back from slips took the skied catch over his shoulder for one.
In-form opener Vijay went to a controversial leg before wicket call by umpire Kumar Dharmasena in the ninth over of the innings by Josh Hazlewood.
Vijay, who has a ton and two half-centuries in this series, was given out although replays showed the ball would have missed leg-stump.
India have refused to use the Decision Referral System (DRS) in this series and suffered several wrong umpiring decisions.
Shaun Marsh was run out for 99 ahead of Australia's lunch declaration at 318 for nine that set India a record-breaking 384 runs to win.
Marsh scampered after a risky single off Umesh Yadav only to be caught out by Kohli's throw from behind the non-striker's end.
Towards the end of a cautious session Marsh went after quick runs and hoisted Ravi Ashwin for a six and a four off successive balls to reach 96 but became edgy on 99 with a lunch-time declaration imminent.
Marsh became the 16th player in Test cricket to be run out on 99 and the third Australian, with all of them occurring in Melbourne. The last Australian was Arthur Morris in 1953.
It was Marsh's highest score against India and he was closing in on his third Test century and first home Test ton after knocks of 148 in South Africa and 141 in Sri Lanka.
Harris was the other Australian wicket to fall in the morning session, caught behind off Mohammed Shami for 21 and giving M.S. Dhoni his ninth dismissal of the match.
Source: AFP