Live Test updates: Australian tail out to save batter’s embarrassment chasing India’s 150

When India last played five Tests on these shores some 32 years ago, the great all-rounder Kapil Dev produced an unforgettable one-two punch on a steamy Brisbane morning.

Bending the second new ball late, he snaked between Allan Border’s bat and pad to take the off bail. Next came a fiendish away swinger to beat Dean Jones comprehensively. But the pièce de résistance was still to come.

Shaping to swing away, Jones’ next ball held its line to take off stump. “Goodnight Charlie, he’s on his way!” exclaimed Tony Greig in the commentary box.

Jones’ bereft reaction, glancing mistrustfully at the pitch, came to mind as India’s captain Jasprit Bumrah put Perth’s biggest-ever Test match crowd on the edges of their seats, with an exhibition of pace bowling mastery that rattled Australia.

The rolling of India for 150 was only ever going to be half the story on this day, or throughout this Border-Gavaskar series.

After Bumrah’s surgical opening spell of the contest laid waste to the Australian top four, the narrative of the encounter was twisted well away from some of the one-sided Test battles glimpsed in Australia lately.

What Shamar Joseph had exposed at the Gabba in January, Bumrah locked onto in November.

Read Dan Brettig’s full analysis here.

Poor old Marnus Labuschagne wore a few yesterday in his painstaking two runs from 52 balls – the second-slowest two on record behind Bull Lawry taking 55 balls in 1969, per the ABC’s Ric Finlay.

It was no different earlier in the nets too, as he went down while facing throw downs from Australian assistant coach Andre Borovec. No wonder Bumrah, Siraj, Hazlewood and Starc had themselves a day out.

Day one in Perth became an exploration of what constitutes regular and irregular in Test cricket nowadays, and when it was done, India had its strut back and Australia knew it had a series on its hands. At this rate, this series will be a five-Test whirlwind.

India outgunning Australia in Australia, it has to be acknowledged, is the new black. If Australia had expected normal service to resume, they were rudely disabused.

At one level, this was business as usual in Test cricket in Perth, where you have always had to have your wits about you. As has been well-reported, balls and pitches across the country are livelier than previously.

This is the new regular, and mostly it’s a good thing. Jasprit Bumrah thinks so… The intrigue about this series intensified. Once, a day so hotly contested might have led to words between the teams.

This day, there was hostility only in the attack and counter-attack. At one point, Mitch Marsh and Rishabh Pant bumped elbows while grinning fraternally. The only edge in play was the outside, constantly.

Australians generally have taken a new-ball quality shine to Pant and Bumrah, Virat Kohli too. In cricket’s new dispensation, hopefully it survives whatever comes next. The least we know is that it will come quickly. Supposedly, the pitch will speed up a bit on Saturday. Don’t dither at the pool or the beach.

Read Greg Baum’s full analysis of a remarkable series opening day here.

Afternoon all, welcome to day two of the opening Border-Gavaskar Test in Perth, and what a Test it’s been already.

Seventeen, count ’em, 17 wickets fell on day one in one of the more remarkable days of play we’ve been privy too.

Alex Carey starts the day alongside Mitch Starc with the hosts somehow trailing India’s first innings total of 150 by 83 runs. Australia’s first job – triple figures, no sure thing by any means at 7-67.

We’ll have the first ball of the day at 1.20pm AEDT, and every single one thereafter, with Dan Brettig and Tom Decent on the ground in Perth and myself manning the keys from the Maroubra bureau.

Here’s to Test cricket, never change.