Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli hit imperious centuries before Jasprit Bumrah took two late wickets as India put themselves in a dominant position against Australia at stumps on day three of the first Test.
Opener Jaiswal’s sublime 161 set the tone for India as he and KL Rahul compiled a record first-wicket stand of 201 for India in Australia. That was followed by Kohli’s zen-like unbeaten knock of exactly 100 at Perth’s Optus Stadium as India declared their second innings on 487-6.
Set 534 for victory, a weary Australia were left with an awkward 24 minutes to negotiate before the close.
Rested and refreshed India stand-skipper Bumrah ran in with menace and trapped Nathan McSweeney lbw with the fourth ball of Australia’s response.
Australia captain Pat Cummins then came out as nightwatchman and edged Mohammed Siraj to Kohli at second slip.
A fired-up Bumrah struck again in his third over as he had Marnus Labuschagne out lbw, with referal backing up the on-field decision.
With two days left to play there is still time for Australia to either bat out for a draw or chase down a record total to win the match.
The current highest successful fourth-innings total to win a match is the 418-7 made by West Indies against Australia at St John’s in May 2003. Australia’s highest fourth-innings chase to win a Test was the 404-3 they made at Headingley against England in July 1948.
However, with movement and uneven bounce on the pitch India look well positioned to win the opening match of the five-Test series. Jaiswal announced himself on the international stage with a sparkling 171 on his Test debut against West Indies in July 2023.
However, his second Test hundred outside of India – and fourth overall – will be one the 22-year-old will doubtless come to savour.
That it came against an gnarled Australia bowling attack, boasting over 1,400 Test wickets between them, was particularly satisfying.
Jaiswal resumed the day on 90 and brought up his fourth Test century, off 205 balls, in a particularly eye-catching manner – ramping a short ball from Josh Hazlewood for six.
He celebrated then spread his arms out, closed his eyes and turned his head to the heavens. There were records, too.
Jaiswal and fellow opener KL Rahul’s opening stand eclipsed the 191 made by Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth at the SCG in 1986, and is now the best of any opening Indian pair in Australia.
Fresh faced and lithe Jaiswal had sledged Mitchell Starc on day two about his pace and showed plenty of resilience whenever he was peppered by short-pitched bowling and any verbals in between.
When he was eventually out – slicing Mitch Marsh to point – Jaiswal lingered at the crease almost in disbelief. His hunger for runs, despite 161 of them across 297 balls and featuring 15 fours and three sixes, seemingly not sated.
His departure sparked a brief fightback from Australia as they took three wickets for eight runs, before grand master Kohli seized control of the contest with a stellar knock of his own.
It was vintage Kohli – watchful at first before he unfurled the full range of stylish drives and classy pulls. When Kohli whacked Nathan Lyon straight down the the ground for six, as he and Nitesh Reddy upped the ante, the expectancy grew.
Never a man to miss his lines on the big stage Kohli duly delivered his seventh Test century on Australian soil with a flick down to fine leg and India declared.
That it ended a lean run of scores – he averaged 14 in his last seven Test innings – is an ominous portent for those wearing baggy greens for the remainder of this series. BBC
Chief scores:
India: 150 (Hazlewood 4-29) and 487-6 dec (Jaiswal 161, Kohli 100*)
Australia: 104 (Bumrah 5-30) and 12-3 (Bumrah 2-1)
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