Kohli classic leaves Test finely poised

In an act of single-mindedness that has come to characterise Virat Kohli, India's captain has imposed himself on the Domain Test series against Australia with an innings as redolent with contrast as it has been gilded by courage.

On a fast bowlers' pitch, Kohli began with a blaze before knuckling down in grim-faced defiance to finish day two unbeaten on 82, with India's 3-172 still 154 runs adrift of Australia's first innings of 326.

Kohli began his 181-ball knock in the face of crisis, and while his fourth-wicket partnership with Ajinkya Rahane has thus far brought 90 runs it also represents the final buffer before an inexperienced middle-order and a lengthy tail comprising four fast bowlers.

Kohli arrived at the crease soon after lunch to a demonstrably more generous ovation than accompanied him to the middle in Adelaide – due in large part to the sizeable contingent of India fans at Perth's new stadium – yet staring at a vastly more hostile scoreline.

Under heavy cloud and ambient temperatures barely half the 38C that baked the venue yesterday, Australia's bowlers had set India on the backfoot by removing both their openers before the total reached 10.

Neither Mitchell Starc nor Josh Hazlewood could have hoped to start their respective spells in more emphatic style.

The final ball of the former's second over saw Murali Vijay's stumps spread-eagled by a lethal late in-swinger.

It was the third time in as many innings in this Domain Series that Starc has removed the opener cheaply, though in Adelaide it was achieved by pushing the ball across the right-hander.

Thirteen balls later, albeit with a lunch break also intervening, KL Rahul was skittled by a similarly clinical delivery as Josh Hazlewood landed a late-swinging yorker that batters in far better form than India's other struggling opener would have found tough to repel.

It's almost certain that teenage whirlwind Prithvi Shaw will return for the third Test starting in Melbourne on Boxing Day pending full recovery from an ankle injury, with Test legend Ricky Ponting predicting to cricket.com.au that Murali Vijay would be the one to make way.

With Australia suddenly so dominant, it would have been no less than human for Kohli to begin his innings with caution, maybe even a hint of hesitancy.

But the world's best Test batter has repeatedly shown himself to not be bound by conventions imposed upon mortals, and so he immediately put the heat back on Australia's buoyant attack with a string of boundaries that defied both circumstance and logic.

On a pitch where no prior player had looked comfortable or fluent, and none had passed 70, Kohli raced to 18 from 10 balls faced before his momentum was arrested and an arm wrestle ensued.

With Pat Cummins probing a challenging length and Nathan Lyon enjoying the sharp spin and steep bounce afforded by the day-two pitch, Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara opted for survival as the boundary flow was curtailed.

For the next 20-plus overs, the previously irrepressible Kohli channelled the stoicism of his implacable partner as they sweated on loose deliveries that rarely arrived.

Having added 74 for the third wicket across more than 33 overs, Pujara saw an opportunity for runs as Starc strayed down the leg side only for his attempted glance to land frustratingly in the gloves of keeper, Tim Paine.

Up to that moment, Pujara had produced just one false stroke on a track that has made surety a scarce commodity.

The century-maker from the series opener had scored only two when he edged Hazlewood towards first slip where the chance fell short of Shaun Marsh, and didn't elicit an attempt by Paine to fling himself to his right.

But while Pujara endured for almost a session and a half of torrid toil, he was unable to inflict meaningful damage on the scoreboard.

The departure of India's best batter – and player of the match – in last week's Adelaide victory for just 24 from 103 balls faced brought in its wake a flurry of runs, although not from the expected source.

Rather, it was the usually circumspect Ajinkya Rahane who upped the ante in the face of a hostile spell from Starc.

Peppered with fast, short balls that reared frightfully from the still-green surface, Rahane showed the sort of belligerence that was Kohli's hallmark earlier in the day as he flung the bat with abandon.

His most emphatic blow being the upper-cut he aimed at a wide delivery from Starc, which came to rest among the India fans beyond the third-man boundary.

While Rahane counter-punched seemingly without regard for personal safety, it was Kohli who found himself in the firing line en route to his 20th Test half-century and as his 25th ton became increasingly likely.

Having worn a blow on his right forearm from a Cummins delivery that ripped back into him off the pitch, Kohli then appeared to shear skin from his right hand as he dived for safety near the bowlers' end stumps after taking off too eagerly for a fraught single.

But by stumps he remained unbeaten and steely, as he prepares to lead India back into battle tomorrow morning with their first series win in Australia still uppermost in his vision.

Kohli's intent had been questioned earlier in the day when his team returned to the field in vastly cooler, greyer conditions armed with a ball less than 10 overs old, yet the captain opted not to immediately employ his best bowler from day one.

Image Id: 1C0BBD43E682437A83BE1E95AD51E7AB Image Caption: Kohli dives in to make his ground // Getty

Jasprit Bumrah had conceded only 41 runs from his 22 overs in Friday's broiling heat where he also made the vital first breakthrough, yet it took the best part of an hour on Saturday morning for him to return to the attack.

By that stage, Australia's overnight pair Paine and Cummins had pushed their team's score to the brink of 300 and exhibited little discomfort against seam pair Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami.

Indeed, the Australians had wrestled the initiative through their urgent running and nerveless defiance as the ball had only rarely threatened, despite the prevailing belief this was to be a bowlers' pitch.

That was until Bumrah appeared and, in the course of his first over, whizzed two deliveries past the edge of Cummins' broad bat and another that beat Paine who had moved confidently to 32.

Australia's seventh pair posted a 50-run partnership and lifted their team to within sight of their highest first innings total since the seismic series in South Africa, until Cummins's resistance was ended by Umesh Yadav.

So close had Yadav come to rattling the Australian's stumps earlier in the 105th over that Cummins was compelled to study the video replay aired on the stadium's giant screen in a bid to understand how he had survived.

Four balls later, he needed only hear the felling of timber immediately behind him as India's belated adoption of a full length brought rewards, and revealed the blueprint they would apply to the remainder of the innings.

Most successfully by Ishant who overcame the fatigue and cramp he suffered on Friday evening to finish with 4-41.

Australia's innings foreclosed in less than four overs, as Paine (34), Starc (6) and Hazlewood (his second golden duck inside a week) all fell to pitched-up deliveries as Australia surrendered 4-16 to be dismissed for 326.

Just how far over par that might prove would only be known once India's celestial top-order – and particularly their peerless skipper – had taken their turn.

Australia XI: Aaron Finch, Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Tim Paine (c), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

India XI: KL Rahul, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.

Domain Test Series v India

Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval, India won by 31 runs

Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium

Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar