So often in the last few years have we all spoken about how this Indian team, with the exception of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, simply fail to read the match situation and adapt their games accordingly.

But on an attritional day of Test cricket in Perth, India’s big three – Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane – batted with the calm resolve of battle-hardened veterans. They batted with the knowledge that a first-innings lead could be crucial, they batted keeping in mind that they have a long tail, a keeper who can’t stop playing shots and a batsman who is playing his first Test in Australia to follow.

At close of play, India were 172/3 after 69 overs – a scenario not many thought possible given how the Perth wicket had behaved on Day 1, and considering the two Indian openers were back in the dressing room with just eight runs on the scoreboard.

Kohli was unbeaten on 82 and giving him company in the middle was Rahane on 51.

The overall consensus was that perhaps India had let the Australian tail wag a little too much in the morning session. From 277/6, the hosts made their way to 326 all out. Psychologically, it gave Australia a boost and India knew that they would have to battle hard.

Nervous openers

But India’s openers are a nervous lot. KL Rahul and Murali Vijay are trying hard to find their best form again but, at this point, they are easy pickings. Openers need to project a sense of solidity but, right now, seeing them at the wicket gets the best out of the bowlers because they know a wicket is there for the taking.

Two good balls got them either side of lunch. Vijay was beaten all ends up by an in swinging delivery from Mitchell Start and then a lovely late-swinging yorker sent back Rahul. Given how vulnerable they look, India must seriously think about a double change ahead of the third Test. Not just Prithvi Shaw, if he returns from injury, but perhaps Mayank Agarwal or even Parthiv Patel can be given a go. They can’t really do any worse.

According to CricViz, “KL Rahul has been out bowled or LBW in 42% of his Test innings. Since he debuted four years ago, the only batsman to play as often as the Indian opener, with a higher bowled/LBW percentage, is James Anderson.”

That simply isn’t good enough.

The fall of the openers meant that India’s worst scenario had become a reality again. Kohli was in to bat and the ball was still new. Pujara was intent on doing his own thing – batting in the zone – but Australia knew that Kohli would look for scoring opportunities. They thought he would give them a chance and they waited for it, but it just never came.

Kohli and Pujara decided that they wanted to stay out there for as long as possible without worrying about the scoring rate. Australia were bowling well and with great discipline but every once in a while they would bowl too straight and the Indian skipper would flick it away for runs.

Innings of restraint

In the early part of his innings, Kohli has faced 37 good-length deliveries and he scored just two runs against them. Against all other deliveries, he scored 51 (86). So, he was prepared to wait for the bad ball. A rare innings of restraint from a man who is establishing himself as the best in the world by a country mile.

Pujara, on the other hand, was even more selective. He waited for the ball to come right into his zone before he played any shot. Australia still don’t know how to get him out but the sustained pressure from Starc bore fruit when he got the batsman down the leg-side. Terribly unlucky for Pujara but Australia felt they had their man and would now be able to soldier on again.

But then again, Rahane was in a very different frame of mind. As soon as the vice-captain came to the crease, the Australians started peppering him with the short ball. But the right hander responded positively and went on the attack right away.

After his first 22 balls, Rahane had scored 23 runs, which given the run-rate that India had maintained through the day represented a huge momentum shift. It even got Kohli to start playing a few shots again.

India are 154 runs behind Australia but they will do well to keep in mind that the Perth pitch changed track completely during the day. There was still something there for the bowlers but the bounce was mostly true and could be trusted. None of the madness that we saw on Day 1 surfaced again. Maybe, it was the cloud cover that helped but either which way India are not yet out of the woods yet.

The first session on Day 3 will be vital. Australia are 11 overs away from the new ball and India will need a few overs to get set again on Sunday. This Test is evenly poised for now but as long as Kohli is in the middle, India will harbour hopes of taking an advantage into the second innings.