Australia dominated the first day of the second Test against India as Mitchell Starc posted career-best bowling figures.

Mitchell Starc was a threat with the pink ball, scoring a career-best six for 48 as Australia beat India by 180 in two sessions of the day-night Test in Adelaide on Friday.

The hosts ended the first day at 86-1 and are on course to take a first-innings lead as they look to bounce back in the five-Test series. Opener Nathan McSweeney hit 38 while Marnus Labuschagne hit 20 at the other end.

Earlier, Starc, armed with the brand new pink ball, set the tone by denying Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw – through a sharp in-swinging yorker – with the first ball of the game.

The left-arm fast bowler let out a roar that showed how much Australia valued the wicket of the dangerous Jaiswal, who hit a quick 161 in the series opener in Perth and was caught on the stump microphone telling Starc he was bowling ” too slow.”

Speaking to broadcasters after India’s innings, Starc said he couldn’t really imagine Jaiswal’s dismissal. “Not so much… but nice to sneak past,” the 34-year-old said with a smile.

Starc leads the pink-ball wicket column

Starc has wreaked havoc with the pink ball and now has 72 wickets in day-night Tests, which is the most of any bowler. However, the humidity in Adelaide made it difficult for him to perform optimally. “Of course it didn’t help the engine, I had a bit of a cramp at the end,” he said.

After Jaiswal’s departure, Shubman Gill (31), who missed the Perth Test due to a thumb injury, produced a couple of great drives but KL Rahul at the other end retreated into defence.

Rahul, who was the opener after his patient half-century in Perth, took 21 balls to hit the mark and got two reprieves in the first over from Scott Boland.

Boland, replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood, initially had Rahul caught behind after a no-ball and suffered further torment four balls later when Usman Khawaja missed the batsman’s cross at first slip.

The lights went out twice in quick succession at the Adelaide Oval but play continued. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/u6Jtd39Utc

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 6, 2024

Kohli sneered again as India stuttered

Starc returned to complete the 69-run stand when Rahul (37) directed the ball to McSweeney at the gully, unsure whether to play or walk.

In his next over, Starc similarly dismissed Virat Kohli for seven as the batsman, who hit a hundred in Perth, tried to retire his bat when it was too late. Boland interrupted Gill’s flowing stroke by intercepting him with his left leg in the penultimate over before the evening break.

India continued to lose wickets when play resumed. Rohit, who missed India’s win in Perth and struggled at mid-off, was caught lbw by Boland for a three-ball while Rishabh Pant (21) was dispatched by Australian captain Pat Cummins’ extra jump.

Starc dismissed Ravichandran Ashwin for 22 and bowled Harshit Rana in the same over to complete his five-wicket haul. Nitish Kumar Reddy (42) decided to fight fire with fire and hit three sixes, including a daring reverse scoop off Boland, but India fell short of the 200 mark.

McSweeney got lucky when Australia came out to bat. The opener got ahead of Jasprit Bumrah and wicketkeeper Pant dived but couldn’t grab the ball, which would otherwise have been an easy catch for Rohit at first slip.

However, Bumrah could not be denied for long and Usman Khawaja fell for 13, pushing the bowler to Rohit at slip. Labuschagne and McSweeney treated Bumrah with caution and appeared unfazed compared to the other sailors.

The opening day attracted more than 50,000 fans, making it the fourth highest attendance for a day of Test cricket at the Adelaide Oval.