The Australian batting failed for a second time in this Test, after getting bowled out poorly in the first innings.
Pat Cummins struck a valiant unbeaten half-century to keep India two wickets away from victory in Melbourne.
India vs Australia, 3rd Test: Hosts Australia were 8/0 at stumps, trailing India (443/7 decl) in the first innings at the end of day two in Melbourne.
The two skippers had quite a bit of banter in the middle, so much so that they almost made physical contact at one point.
Nathan Lyon took eight wickets in the match including a five-wicket haul in the first innings at the Perth Stadium.
Ponting stated that whatever happened on the field was "lighthearted" and "quite funny at times."
It was an outstanding bowling effort by Lyon who claimed a match-bag of 8-106.
Australia took just an hour and 15 overs on day five to bowl India out for 140 in the second innings and win the match by 146 runs in Perth and level the four-match series 1-1.
The 31-year-old off spinner dismissed Ajinkya Rahane on 51 before clearing up India's tail on day three, ensuring his side held on to a narrow first innings lead.
Finch and Marcus Harris put on 112 runs for the opening partnership after which Australia finished the day at 277-6.
India beat Australia by 31 runs at the Adelaide Oval on Monday to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
After bowling out India for 307, Australia were set a target of 323 but have lost four wickets in the bargain, courtesy of Ashwin and Shami's strikes. India are 6 wickets away from a win.
Rohit Sharma scored 37 off 61 balls, hitting two boundaries and three sixes at the Adelaide Oval.
Chief coach Justin Langer said the senior players were rested primarily because of the upcoming four-Test series.
Pakistan, which scored 482 in their first innings, didn't enforce the follow-on and swelled their overall lead to 325 runs by reaching 45/3 at stumps.
The 30-year-old, however, added that he would look to have a successful campaign in the series.
Following the infamous ball-tampering saga that rocked Australian cricket earlier this year, Australia have named Tim Paine as the skipper of the national side but are yet to name his deputy in the traditional format of the game.
In 2016, Proteas toured Australia to play three Test matches where they won the first two Tests before the hosts won in the final day-night game in Adelaide.
The Prime Minister's XI (PM XI) is an invitational cricket team picked by the Prime Minister of Australia for an annual match held at the Manuka Oval in Canberra against an overseas touring team.
Lyon said Australia was bracing for a brave fightback from the tourists, who were hammered by 10 wickets in the Ashes opener in Brisbane.
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