Australia dominates the second day of the second Test against India in Adelaide as the hosts look to level the series.

Australia overcame Travis Head’s blistering 140 to score 337 before reducing India to 128-5 on Saturday to stay on course and achieve a series victory in the second day-night test.

Head hit a swashbuckling hundred to give Australia a first-innings lead of 157 at their home ground, the Adelaide Oval.

The Australian pace battery further consolidated their position by destroying the top half of the Indian batting order with the pink ball.

Rishabh Pant led India’s fightback with an entertaining 28 points while Nitish Kumar Reddy was at the other end with 15 and 29 points behind.

Earlier, after Australia continued at 86-1, Jasprit Bumrah (4-61) ensured the tourists didn’t have to wait long for a breakthrough.

Opener Nathan McSweeney, playing only his second Test, added just one run to his overnight score before dismissing Bumrah for 39.

The skilful seamer also dismissed Steve Smith for two, strangling the out-of-form batsman on the leg side while wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant took a diving catch.

Marnus Labuschagne (64) kept his head down and picked up runs without taking any risks en route to his second half-century in his last 11 Test innings.

Head, arriving at the other end, was more confident and hit off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin over the middle ropes for his second boundary.

Reddy’s 65-run stand was broken when Labuschagne cut him into the gully where Yashasvi Jaiswal took a sharp catch.

However, the head couldn’t be held back and the left-hander continued to play his shots en route to a 63-ball fifty.

Head hammers attack on India

Mitchell Marsh fell behind Ashwin although replays showed no contact between bat and ball and the batsman did not challenge the decision.

Head continued to cut and pull with abandon and also had some luck. One of his crosses flew between the wicketkeeper and first slip, and another time Mohammed Siraj failed to hold on to a tough catch in the deep.

Head asked Ashwin to name his hundred before pointing to his wife, daughter and newborn son in the stands.

Siraj (4-98) finally stopped the batting carnage by bowling him with a yorker.

“If they have the quick quality that they have, I guess it’s something to target,” Head said, explaining why he had targeted Ashwin, India’s only spinner.

“I had the feeling that I mastered his spells really, really well and was able to regain the speed with the new ball in certain phases.”

India did not start well in the second innings when they came to bat.

Pat Cummins dismissed the trailing KL Rahul (seven) with a steeling drive that Alex Carey had only survived with ease in the opener.

Scott Boland struck with his first ball, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal, also left behind, for 24 just as the batsman looked dangerous.

A losing Virat Kohli, who scored 11, also fell to Boland in a similar fashion.

Shubman Gill made a fluent 28 before Mitchell Starc had his stumps rearranged while Cummins bowled his opposite number Rohit Sharma (six) to leave India reeling.

Pant played some incredible shots – sending the ball to the rope while falling himself – much to the amusement of the 51,642 fans.