Australia 104 and 12 for 3 need 522 more runs to win India 150 and 487 by December 6 (Jaiswal 161, Kohli 100*, Rahul 77)
Kohli then took advantage at the end of the third day with a drought-breaking century to add to his epic ton on the same wicket in 2018. On that occasion, his heroics were in vain, but this time it is almost certain to be different after India declared their second innings at 487 for 6.
It completed a day of absolute domination for India after their former talisman and protégé completely broke Australia’s mood on an oppressive day in Perth, where temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius. As on day two, Australia went through the motions in a performance that would attract plenty of scrutiny.
They faced an Australian attack who were eager to make amends for a lackluster second day performance, where they looked tired and rattled by the sudden change in the nature of the pitch.
But Jaiswal could not be denied and, as befitted his daring skills, he reached his century in the most spectacular manner. In the 95th over he looked to ramp a Hazlewood bounce on slip, but instead hit fine leg where the ball hit the boundary marker entirely. Starc, who was close by, pointed a six but the umpires had to check it leaving Jaiswal with a nervous wait. It all became clear when Jaiswal removed his helmet before raising his arms and punching the air.
There was a brief loss of concentration when the openers had a mix-up and Jaiswal would have trailed by a mile only for Cummins to miss the direct hit from mid-on. It was not the first time that the openers had poor communication between the wickets, as an out looked like Australia’s best chance to make a breakthrough.
No. 3 Devdutt Padikkal, who got his chance in the absences of captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, played an excruciating 23-ball duck in the first innings. But he had a much better chance of success with a massive platform built and better batting conditions. Padikkal got off the mark in his fourth delivery with a push across the gully as he combined well with Jaiswal until lunch.
Jaiswal was unstoppable and had an answer for Australia’s every strategy. Cummins briefly resorted to a short ball tactic without success. Labuchagne was used, but he started with a wayward bounce that was called open and didn’t threaten to the point that later in the day he again did leg spins.
The second new ball was taken before lunch but Jaiswal and Padikkal had no problems and scored freely. Padikkal, however, fell to Hazlewood, clearly Australia’s best bowler in the innings, on the first ball after the interval as a determined Kohli came out eager to end his poor form.
To underline his desire, Kohli had spent much of the first padded session with his helmet on and quickly showed that he had learned from his brief and disconcerting stint at the crease in the first innings when he batted well outside his crease. This time, Kohli made a change in his setup and did not bat so far from his crease. He looked much more comfortable, albeit in easier circumstances, and was happy to let Jaiswal hog the spotlight.
Jaiswal once again surpassed 150 but a run later slipped away after wicketkeeper Alex Carey dropped a difficult chance down the leg side. Australia’s torture continued when Jaiswal contemptuously crushed Cummins mid-on before, out of nowhere, he played a short, wide delivery from Mitchell Marsh straight to the point.
Jaiswal threw his head back in disbelief and the 26,000 spectators were also stunned before giving him a well-deserved ovation as he took off his helmet and looked up at the sky as he walked off the field.
Australia had their best pace of play since the middle of the opening day when Lyon bowled Rishabh Pant and stumped him for 1 before Cummins finally claimed a wicket after trapping Dhruv Jurel lbw as India trailed 3 for 8.
But Kohli was on a mission and in an aggressive mood when he clipped Starc over the boundary for six in a shot that unfortunately hit a sitting security official on the side of the head.
With a statement in his sights, he stood firm alongside debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, who displayed T20-style batting. Having last scored a Test century in July 2023, Kohli reached 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 rose from the ground amid India’s declaration of a famous victory that attracts tourists.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth.
