Virat Kohli.
Credit: X/@BCCI
Perth: Whatever had to go wrong for India had gone wrong before they set their feet in Australia.
They had suffered a demoralising 3-0 series loss at home against New Zealand, their most experienced pacer Mohammed Shami's much-anticipated return for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) series didn't go as planned, their regular captain Rohit Sharma had to miss the first Test as he stayed back in India to be with his wife for the birth of their second child and their premier batter Virat Kohli was going through a prolonged slump in form.
Upon landing here, their first-choice No. 3 batter, Shubman Gill, fractured his left thumb during fielding practice and was ruled out of the opener. While all these developments had few people backing India to pull a rabbit out of the hat, their first innings performance, which saw the holders fold up for 150, portended a harsh Australian summer for the tourists. An early finish to the opening Test in favour of Australia here at the Optus Stadium was but a popular expectation here, few were prepared for a dramatic turnaround that India would script -- first the with the ball and then, more decisively, with the bat.
Through overnight batters Yashasvi Jaiswal (161, 297b, 15x4, 3x6) and KL Rahul (77, 176b, 5x4) and then courtesy an unbeaten ton from Virat Kohli (100, 143b, 8x4, 2x6), India buried Australia under an avalanche of runs before declaring their second innings closed at a mammoth 487/6 which, combined with a first-innings lead of 46, set the hosts an improbable target of 534.
The declaration came soon after Kohli brought up his 30th Test century when he moved from 96 to 100 with a swept four off Marnus Labuschagne. After confirming the boundary, Kohli blew kisses towards his actor-wife Anuksha Sharma and as he turned towards his team-mates to acknowledge, skipper Jasprit Bumrah called him back.
To put the magnitude of Australia's challenge in perspective, 418 by West Indies against Australia at St John's in 2003 remains the highest successful chase in the history of Test cricket. Also, Australia's highest successful chase of 404 against England at Leeds came way back in 1948 when Sir Don Bradman led the Aussie charge with an unbeaten 173.
Bumrah, it appeared, was only waiting for Kohli to complete his century and the skipper gave India a bright start by trapping debutant Nathan McSweeney for the second time in the match with the fourth ball of the innings. And by stumps on Sunday's third day, Australia had lost three wickets for 12 runs, trailing India by 521 runs with Bumrah (2.2-1-1-2) finishing the day by accounting for Marnus Labuschagne.
Jaiswal (161, 297b, 15x4, 3x6) and Rahul (77, 176b, 5x4) added 35 runs in just six overs before the latter fell against the run of play, edging Mitchell Starc behind and ending the most productive, and perhaps the match-defining association (207 off 63 overs). No praise can be too high for the duo who showed immense character to defy the odds. While Rahul could play only because Rohit chose to delay his departure from India, Jaiswal was testing the Australian waters for the first time.
Jaiswal made his innings count with another "daddy hundred" that formed the bedrock of India's huge target. Displaying maturity beyond his age, the Mumbaikar not only occupied the crease but also ensured runs came at a healthy clip to keep the Australian attack under the pump. Nothing debilitates a team more than the score-board pressure and by the time Jaiswal departed to a standing ovation, the ground beneath Australia's feet was slipping.
With Kohli essaying his second hundred at the venue in as many Tests, Australia knew their goose had been cooked.