James Pattinson breathed fire for Australia before Sachin Tendulkar made his most ominous start to a Test innings in recent memory as India reached 84 for 2 in reply to the visitors' 380 at tea on day two in Chennai.
It is often said that no judgement should be made on a pitch until both teams have bowled on it, and the extra velocity of Australia's fast men brought life to the surface that had India's openers M Vijay and Virender Sehwag hopping about before both chopped a rampant Pattinson onto the stumps.
At 12 for 2 India were in some disarray, but Tendulkar punched his first two deliveries to the cover boundary, and with the composed Cheteshwar Pujara he succeeded in blunting Australia's attack for the remainder of the session while scoring at a healthy rate.
India's innings had been delayed until after lunch by the obduracy of the Australian tail. Michael Clarke went on from his overnight 103 not out to 130, going past Greg Chappell on Australia's list of run aggregates along the way, and Peter Siddle dead-batted to a stodgy but valuable 19 from 94 balls. Pattinson and Nathan Lyon then managed to extend the session, each ball a little victory for the pair. Lyon ultimately succumbed when his sweep was well held at leg slip.
R Ashwin again bowled teasingly, and Lyon's wicket gave him a new innings high-mark in Tests. Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh struck earlier in the morning, the latter improving somewhat on his diffident performance on the first day of the series. Redolent of a desert, the pitch required constant vigilance by the batsmen, and does not look like improving.
Vijay and Sehwag walked out for the start of the afternoon session aware that Australia's most threatening bowlers would be employed immediately. Mitchell Starc took the first over and bowled tidily without extracting his pet inswing to the right-hand batsmen, relying on the occasional short ball for the element of surprise.
At the other end Pattinson charged in for his first Test since a side strain removed him from Australia's attack in Adelaide last November. Clearly given licence to bowl at his fastest in short bursts by his captain Clarke, Pattinson touched 150kmph during a three-over stint that exhilarated everyone but the Indian opening batsmen.
Entering the match with modest domestic form, Vijay was beaten for pace by a full ball that tailed back fractionally and plucked out leg stump via the inside edge. Sehwag never seemed at home, and a late defensive prod on a ball angled back into him resulted in a dismissal that looked bizarre but also felt inevitable.
It was reminiscent of Graham Gooch's famed handled the ball dismissal in an Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1993, only this time the batsman allowed the ball to drop onto the stumps rather than pushing it away with an illegal glove. Having worn his spectacles to the middle, Sehwag strolled off perhaps in search of a new optometrist.
Tendulkar marked his guard with few recent Test match runs behind him, and a clear pattern in his recent dismissals - the stumps were bound to be attacked. But he confronted Pattinson's first two balls with such assurance that the complexion of the innings changed almost immediately, Australia's bowlers and fielders given pause by the poise of an ageing master, as he set his soundest foundation for quite some time.
Pujara lost little by comparison, technically compact but never missing a chance to score, and together with Tendulkar he pushed India out of the worst of the danger. The only major tremor took place in the final over of the session, Tendulkar padding up to Lyon's offbreak and surviving a prolonged appeal for reasons known only to the umpire Marais Erasmus.
India 182 for 3 (Tendulkar 71*, Kohli 50*, Pattinson 2-25) trail Australia 380 (Clarke 130, Henriques 68, Warner 50, Ashwin 7-103) by 198 runs
Tendulkar's non-shot against Lyon will stick in the memory of the Australians should he go on to a century on day three, much as Clarke's escape from a bat-pad appeal gave India reason to feel wronged on the first afternoon.
Australia's bowlers found some reverse swing not long after tea, Moises Henriques and Siddle both bending the ball usefully. But it was Pattinson who found a way through Pujara, though with a delivery never intended to curve. Delivered across the seam, it skidded through low and beat Pujara's slightly lax defensive stroke, leaving India precariously placed at 105 for 3.
But the breach was not fully exploited. Pattinson again returned to outfield duty after only three overs, Lyon remained inconsistent, and the rest were lacking in danger if not effort. Clarke eventually brought himself on from over the wicket, and had the ball biting out of the rough. But he was unable to land there enough to maintain pressure, and the day petered out with Tendulkar looking every bit as assured as his first two balls had been.
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