The Australian pacers created multiple opportunities but catches went down in the slip cordon, Thakur being the major recipient. Rahane was also saved by the umpire’s call for a leg-before decision that Australia reviewed in Green’s over and while Thakur had a lucky break when Cummins rapped him on the pads but replays revealed that he had overstepped.

There were testing deliveries time and again but there were some loose ones too as the seventh wicket pair helped India past the 250 mark and raised a century stand at a strike rate of over 83, with India scoring at close to five an over before the Lunch break.

However, only 59 runs came in the second session as Australia wrapped up the innings quickly before getting to 23/1 at Tea.

Australia made quick inroads into the Indian batting with Cummins being the wrecker-in-chief. He found the outside edge of Rahane’s bat and saw Cameron Green take a stunning one-handed catch at gully to end a fine innings. Thakur registered his third successive fifty at The Oval but Australia kept chipping away and picked up a 173-run lead.

The Indian pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami then steamed in and put the Australian batters under pressure with the new ball, with the bounce troubling them too.

Siraj got the better of David Warner who tried to drive away from his body while Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja were kept on their toes, with plays and misses, and indecisive runnning between the wickets. Labuschagne lost his bat a couple of times in a trying period for the batters but the second wicket pair came out unscathed.

Khawaja, however, fell early in the third session trying to get a move on after a slew of dot balls. Steve Smith and Labuschagne however, eased the pressure with regular boundaries to extend the lead. Umesh Yadav, who finally picked up a wicket in the match, was guilty of leaking fours, as was Shami.

As the ball got older and the field spread, singles, twos and even threes came easily as Smith and Labuschagne built a steady partnership. The stand eventually extended past 50, Australia’s lead crossed 250 and the Indian bowlers appeared deflated. But against the run of play Smith charged down the track to a Jadeja delivery and ended up skying a leading edge.

With Travis Head at the crease, India operated with Siraj and Jadeja in tandem – the pacer resorting to short-ball tactics and the spinner trying to make the most of the rough outside the batter’s off stump. A couple of streaky sixes, one off a dropped catch, followed, but Jadeja held on to a catch off his own bowling to end Head’s stay. Labuschagne and Green saw through the remainder of the day without any damage.

Australia 469 all-out (Travis Head 163, Steve Smith 121, Alex Carey 48; Mohammed Siraj 4-108, Shardul Thakur 2-83) & 123/4 (Marnus Labuschagne 41*, Steven Smith 34; Ravindra Jadeja 2-25) lead India 296 all-out (Ajinkya Rahane 89, Shardul Thakur 51; Pat Cummins 3-83) by 296 runs