Team India came out well on top for the second consecutive day against Australia in the first of the five Tests at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Although Mitchell Starc resisted admirably with the bat, it wasn't enough to prevent the tourists from gaining a handy 46-run lead and eventually surged it to 218.

Team India's stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah had led the bowling onslaught on day one, running through Australia's batting unit to reduce them to 67-7. The hosts scraped through to 104 as Starc top-scored with 26 on a tricky surface. With a 46-run lead in the bank, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were sensational with the bat after initially playing it cautiously.

The opening pair launched a calculated assault on a tiring Australian attack, grounding down the trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood as they were unlucky not to break through despite beating the bat multiple times. Rahul (62*) and Jaiswal (90*) stayed unbeaten as India reached 172-0 at Stumps.