The omnipotence paradox asks: "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?"

The philosophical answer is nothing, because the two states of being cannot coexist.

The cricketing answer is runs. Lots and lots and lots of runs.

Nobody has scored more Test runs than the game's unstoppable force - Sachin Tendulkar. Nobody has faced more Test deliveries than the game's immovable object - Rahul Dravid. Together, no partnership has accumulated more Test runs.

At the MCG on Friday the Indian legends treated 53,000 fans to a 117-run masterclass.

Tendulkar made 73 at almost a run-a-ball, and did so with effortless poise and balance. He drove through long on, long off and the covers at will, making the most technically difficult strokes seems as arduous as leaning into the fold of a comfy chair. Because he could, The Little Master uppercut the first ball after tea for six.

He was eventually undone in the last over of play by a Peter Siddle ripsnorter that pitched outside off and seamed in through the open gate to shatter the stumps. The wait for the hundredth hundred continues but in this form it will surely come sooner rather than later.

Dravid was less proficient and despite the scorecard indicating he accumulated 68 runs it is questionable if he was ever ‘in' at all. But, in its own way, his innings was also a thing of great beauty. Modern cricketers, particularly of Australian origin, have become used to runs flowing freely or not at all. Dravid found scoring difficult, but he was not phased. He continued to take guard, study the field, and patiently worked the ball into gaps while his timing improved.

The Test match hosting Tendulkar and Dravid's Victorian valedictory performances is now in Indian control. Closing day two on 3/214 in reply to Australia's 333, it will take a stunning turnaround on Wednesday morning to force a home first-innings lead.

Resuming at 6/277 Australia's tail performed admirably to eke out enough runs during the morning session to convince the partisan they had a total approaching par.

Brad Haddin is not a tailender however, and his dismissal in the second over of the day, slashing a Zaheer Khan delivery to Virender Sehwag in the gully, is further evidence (if any is needed) that he lacks the aptitude to play Test cricket for his country. A batting average of 22 in the calendar year tells its own story but those already skinny figures hide a multitude of lazy dismissals at crucial moments, further undermining the gloveman's claims to a spot in the XI.

Haddin's overnight partner, Peter Siddle, lasted for half an hour before Khan, in the middle of a beguiling spell, induced an edge behind. The Victorian's unfussy 41 hinted at the quality of the deck dropped into the MCG at the end of the footy season.

James Pattinson (18 n/o) and Ben Hilfenhaus (19) did their bits in contrasting ways but once the Tasmanian had slogged Ravichandran Ashwin to Virat Kohli attention began to turn to India and it's quintet of batting maestros. Their turns would come soon enough, prompted by Ashwin bagging his second of the morning, bowling Nathan Lyon around his legs for six.

Cliché dictates that India then had to face a ‘testing' 20-minute spell before lunch. Sehwag doesn't do testing. He does cavalier and showboating but he doesn't concern himself with parcels of time. The ball is there to be hit - always - regardless of who is bowling or when he happens to be at the crease. The diminutive opener threw his bat at everything, with the extravagance of an amateur golfer wielding an expensive new driver.

Such an approach comes with risks but Sehwag raced to 67 before Australia could take advantage. Mike Hussey grassed a sharp chance on 11 but Haddin's hard-handed aberration with Sehwag on 58 came with no excuses. Pattinson eventually forced an under-edge onto timber but by then the tempo had been set.

Haddin's shocker of a day came with some reward earlier, when Gautam Gambhir (3) edged a Hilfenhaus delivery that was taken. Unfortunately for Australia, the removal of the openers simply served to hasten the 36-over Dravid and Tendulkar show.

Australia's seamers did not disgrace themselves. Pattinson bowled with hostility and his tete-a-tete with Sehwag revealed the disregard of reputation expected of Australian fast bowlers. Hilfenhaus looked a stronger proposition than that which faced England last summer and Siddle did what Siddle always does. His wicket of Tendulkar was just reward for a day's toil including the misfortune of piercing The Wall off a no ball.

But against such quality opposition on such a flat pitch beneath sunny Victorian skies that trio lacked enough craft to disturb India's progress for long.

Lyon's milking, as well as Hussey's repeated appearances and David Warner's declaration spinners makes Australia's lack of fifth bowler appear at best overconfident, at worst negligent. With such a batting order there were always going to be days like these; it wouldn't have taken Nostradamus to predict the benefit of an extra shoulder at the wheel.

Tendulkar's late dismissal curbed the enthusiasm of a bumper crowd celebrating a hundredth hundred on day three. There is still plenty to look forward to however, not least Dravid's march to a sixth century in 2011.

If day one belonged to DRS, then SRT can claim day two. This may be the last time the little master ever accepts the applause of the MCG as a Test cricketer and he dutifully left all those who stood to acclaim him a vivid reminder why he is so admired.