Rishabh Pant (6*) and Ravindra Jadeja (4*) were at the crease at the close, but three late wickets in the final half-hour severely dented India’s progress after they had reached 153 for two. Scott Boland and Pat Cummins struck twice each to put Australia firmly in command.
Skipper Rohit Sharma continued his struggles, managing just three runs before mistiming a pull shot off Cummins, offering a simple catch to Boland at mid-on. Cummins struck again to bowl KL Rahul for 24 on the stroke of tea.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was a standout for India, crafting a fluent 82, marked by elegant front-foot drives and a flurry of boundaries. However, his promising innings ended in a comical run-out following a mix-up with Virat Kohli. Jaiswal called for a quick single off Boland, but Kohli refused, leaving him stranded and breaking a crucial 102-run partnership.
Kohli, who faced criticism and a 20% match fee fine for his shoulder charge on debutant Sam Konstas on day one, fell for 36, edging Boland to Alex Carey. Boland then dismissed nightwatchman Akash Deep for a duck, further tightening Australia’s grip.
Earlier, Australia extended their overnight score with Smith leading the charge. Resuming on 68, he and Cummins added 112 runs for the seventh wicket. Smith’s century came with a boundary off Nitish Kumar Reddy, marking his second hundred in as many matches following his 101 in Brisbane. The veteran batsman joined an elite group of players with 34 Test centuries, including Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara, with only six players ahead of him, led by Sachin Tendulkar’s 51. After reaching his milestone, Smith opened up his game, but Cummins fell for a valiant 49, caught off Jadeja in the deep. Smith’s dismissal was unusual—an inside edge off Akash Deep deflected off his pads onto the stumps. Mitchell Starc (15) and Nathan Lyon (13) were the final wickets to fall, with Jadeja (3/78) and Jasprit Bumrah (4/99) sharing the spoils.
The five-match series is evenly poised at 1-1. India won the opener in Perth by 295 runs, while Australia responded with a 10-wicket victory in Adelaide. The rain-marred third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw.
