Jaiswal, Kohli star as late Bumrah heroics put Aussies in trouble

Virat Kohli's rollicking return to form that brought his first Test century in 18 months, coupled with next-generation superstar Yashasvi Jaiswal's landmark hundred have India poised to claim a 1-0 lead in the battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

On a day dominated by the touring like few others have managed in recent decades, India's batters made hay before declaring on 6-487 immediately upon Kohli reaching his 30th Test hundred, at which point their lead was an unassailable 533.

With the crowd of 26,166 fans of which a large portion were exultant India supporters, Australia faced an uncomfortable 25 minutes of late-evening batting during which they surrendered three wickets.

Debutant Nathan McSweeney was handed the dubious honour of facing the first over and survived just four balls before being pinned lbw by India's captain and first-innings destroyer Jasprit Bumrah for a duck.

The irrepressible Kohli was then back in the limelight, holding a catch at second slip to remove Australia's captain-turned-nightwatcher Pat Cummins barely 20 minutes after he had crowned his resurgent hundred by blowing a kiss to wife Anushka in the grandstand.

A day that could barely have played out better for the Trophy holders ended when Marnus Labuschagne's recent run of wretched form continued when trapped lbw by Bumrah for three, ensuring Australia resume tomorrow on 3-12 and 521 runs behind.

The fact incumbent captain Rohit Sharma arrived in Perth from India during the course of today's play, after a stint of paternity leave in Mumbai, the visitors will take an even stronger team into the next Test at Adelaide after totally outplaying their rivals since Friday.

Kohli's second half-century from his past 14 innings ended a run of four single-figure scores from his past five starts in Tests, and came after Jaiswal's emphatic statement announcing a substantial presence in the game.

The stage that Kohli came to dominate as the shadows of a stifling Western Australia Day celebration reached long, had been set by Jaiswal's 161 from 297 deliveries that has virtually assured his team can't be beaten at the start of their Trophy defence.

But as much as the substantial contingent of India fans at Perth Stadium rose to a new hero already inviting comparisons with batting deity Sachin Tendulkar, it was the resurgence of the similarly worshipped Kohli that sent them into apoplexy.

From the moment Kohli strode to the wicket with India 2-275 and already 300-plus runs in ascendancy, the crowd chanted and drummed and blew conch shells every time Kohli scored a run and with escalating intensity as he steamed towards a century.

The former India skipper has been under increasing scrutiny for his return of runs at Test level, with his most recent hundred – the 29th of a remarkable career – coming against West Indies in July 2023.

And after the 36-year-old edged tamely to slip in his team's first innings, speculation intensified his time as a batting force might have passed.

But the manner in which he was able to withstand the best Australia's quicks could summon with a second ball just four overs old when he began his innings, then throttled through the gears to reach his second 50 from just 49 deliveries was vintage Kohli.

All but lost in the final-hour frenzy was a stunning cameo from debutant allrounder Nitish Reddy whose 38no from 37 balls included an extraordinary flick for six over square leg off Mitchell Marsh followed by three disdainful boundaries from as many balls in Marsh's next over.

Bereft of ideas and low on energy after a draining day in the heat, Australia's vaunted bowling attack coughed up 128 from 24.3 overs in the final session as the Trophy they last lifted a decade ago remains beyond arm's length.

Equally atypical was the 55 extras conceded across India's runs-fest, the second-highest by Australia in Tests after the 62 chalked up against South Africa at Cape Town in an innings defeat at Cape Town in 2009.

If Australia's bowlers knew anything heading into what loomed as an oppressive day – with India 0-172 and 35C forecast in Perth – it was Jaiswal's penchant for turning centuries into big scores.

The three previous hundreds the 22-year-old had fashioned since his Test debut last year were 171 (in his maiden innings against West Indies) followed by scores of 209 and 214no in last February's series against England.

What surely took the home team by surprise was the manner in which the left-hander reached his latest milestone moment in his first Test outing on Australian turf.

A well-directed bouncer from Australia's most threatening bowler Josh Hazlewood was not simply swatted away with a dismissive ramp shot, it came with a deft wrist flick that sent soaring not over the slips cordon but to very fine leg.

Given he was on 95 at the time, Jaiswal was forced to wait until off-field umpire Richard Illingworth the ball had landed on the rope rather than just short.

But once that detail was confirmed, the prodigy raised his arms to the sky before very deliberately placing his bat and helmet and on the Perth turf and reprising the pose with back arched, like a victorious gladiator basking before an appreciative coliseum.

The holder of a unique origin story, Jaiswal had arrived in Australia carrying lofty expectations he failed to fulfil when he sliced a catch to gully before he had scored in India's first innings.

However, his second innings in Australia potentially exceeded the fanfare as the unconventionally ebullient method of reaching his century and the subsequent celebration underscored.

Jaiswal's innings of more than seven hours across 297 deliveries was characterised by quick  hands that saw him peel off an array of exquisite back foot strokes, nimble feet against both spin and medium-pace, and an unerring eye.

The only shortcoming he exhibited was some skittish running between wickets, most notable immediately after he had posted a milestone.

On 51 yesterday he might have been found short if Steve Smith had landed a direct hit, and a similar result from Pat Cummins today when the opener was 101 would have seen him run out after Jaiswal had backed up too far.

It appeared a run out was the only way Australia would see the back of the insatiable talent but they squandered a third chance when another ping at the bowler's end stumps by Travis Head when Jaiswal was 143 yielded nothing but an overthrow.

Head might have been granted an earlier opportunity when Jaiswal (on 111) upper-cut Cummins to deep third where the fielder had been especially deployed, but he was too far inside the rope and the fly ball bounced between Head and the boundary.

It seemed Jaiswal was destined to overtake Ravi Shastri's 1991 benchmark of 201 for the highest Test score in Australia by an India opener, and the disbelief he betrayed when he slapped a wide long hop from Mitchell Marsh to backward point.

But by that stage India had already set some new records.

The 201-run opening stand before K L Rahul nicked off in attempting to ease Starc through the off-side – a shot that had proved so productive for him in the day's first half-hour – is the best first-wicket effort by India in Australia.

It was also the first double-century opening by a touring Test team here since Graham Gooch and Mike Atherton put on 203 at Adelaide during the 1990-91 Ashes.

After play on day two, Australia coach Andrew McDonald had identified the imminent arrival of the second new ball in this morning's session as his team's potential "entry point back into the game".

Initially, that epochal moment shortly before lunch seemed set to hasten their route to the exit as 20 runs flowed from the first four overs as India's lead stretched beyond 300.

However, Hazlewood – whose economy rate of 1.33 runs per over shone like a beacon on another demoralising day for his fellow bowlers – pushed the door slightly ajar when he had India number three Devdutt Padikkal snared low at second slip from the first delivery after the adjournment.

When Jaiswal followed him back to the sheds almost an hour later, signing off his triumphant knock with one final double-arm raise, Australia enjoyed their best phase for almost two days.

In the space of 16 deliveries, they captured 3-8 after Rishabh Pant was smartly stumped in trying to take the attack to Nathan Lyon, and Dhruv Jurel was adjudged lbw to a ball from Cummins that was given out on-field and adjudged to be shaving leg stump on the batter's review.

But just as Australia entertained another batting implosion that might keep their notional target below 400, Kohli remained true to type and delighted in turning the screws on his long-time foes.

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: November 22-26: Perth Stadium, 1.20pm AEDT

Second Test: December 6-10: Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (D/N)

Third Test: December 14-18: The Gabba, Brisbane, 11.20am AEDT

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal