Australia 104 and 12 for 3 need 522 more runs to win India 150 and 487 for December 6 (Jaiswal 161, Kohli 100*, Rahul 77)
Kohli then took advantage at the end of the third day with a dry century to add to his epic ton at the same ground in 2018. On that occasion, his heroics were in vain, but this time it will almost certainly be different after India declared their second innings at 487 for 6.
It completed a day of total dominance for India after their long-time talisman and protégé completely broke Australia’s spirits on an oppressive day in Perth where temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius. Just like on day two, Australia pressed on in a performance that attracted plenty of scrutiny.
They were confronted by an Australian attack who were eager to make up for their lackluster performance on the second day, where they looked tired and shaken by the sudden change in the nature of the pitch.
But Jaiswal was not denied and, befitting his audacious skills, reached his century in the most spectacular fashion. In the 95th minute, he tried to bowl a Hazlewood bouncer over slip but instead hit fine leg, where the ball hit the boundary marker hard. Starc in the near field signaled a six but the umpires had to check, leaving Jaiswal to wait nervously. Everything became clear when Jaiswal took off his helmet before raising his arms and punching the air.
There was a brief loss of concentration as the openers got confused and Jaiswal was reportedly run over by a mile, only for Cummins to miss the direct hit at mid-off. It wasn’t the first time the openers had miscommunicated between the wickets, as a run out seemed to be Australia’s best chance of advancement.
No. 3 Devdutt Padikkal, who got his chance in the absence of captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, made an excruciating 23-ball duck in the first innings. But he had a much better chance of success with a huge platform built and in better hitting conditions. Padikkal struck on his fourth delivery with a gully push as he combined well with Jaiswal until lunch.
Jaiswal was unstoppable and had an answer for all of Australia’s strategies. Cummins briefly resorted to a short ball tactic, to no avail. Labuchagne was used, but he started with a wayward bouncer who was called wide and didn’t threaten to the point that, at the end of the day, he turned his legs again.
The second new ball was made before lunch but Jaiswal and Padikkal had no problems as they scored freely. Padikkal, however, fell to Hazlewood, clearly Australia’s best bowler in the innings, off the first ball after the break as a determined Kohli came out eager to end his slump in form.
Underscoring his desire, Kohli spent much of the first session padded with his helmet and quickly showed he had learned from his brief, disconcerting spell at the crease in the first innings when he batted well outside his crease. This time, Kohli made a change to his setup and didn’t hit it so far outside his area. He looked much more comfortable, albeit in easier circumstances, and was content to let Jaiswal take center stage.
Jaiswal once again surpassed 150, but one run later he came loose after wicketkeeper Alex Carey missed a difficult chance down the leg side. Australia’s torture continued when Jaiswal dismissively crushed Cummins at mid-off before, out of nowhere, playing a short, wide delivery from Mitchell Marsh straight to point.
Jaiswal threw his head back in disbelief and the crowd of 26,000 was also shocked before giving him a well-deserved standing ovation as he took off his helmet and looked up at the sky as he walked off the field.
Australia had their best spell of play since midway through the opening day when Lyon outplayed Rishabh Pant and stumped him for 1, before Cummins finally claimed a wicket after trapping Dhruv Jurel lbw as India lost 3-8 .
But Kohli was on a mission and in an aggressive mood as he sliced Starc over the slip cordon for six in a blow that unfortunately hit a seated security official on the side of the head.
With a statement in sight, he stamped alongside debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, who reeled off T20-style batting. Having last scored a Test century in July 2023, Kohli achieved his 30th Test ton in style, with a boundary to deep fine leg. He took off his helmet, blew a kiss to his wife and walked off the ground amid India’s declaration that a famous victory beckons for the tourists.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth
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