If Australia are looking for some inspiration after the Nagpur debacle, they don't need to look too far. Their decimation on Saturday, by an innings and 132 runs, is pretty similar to India's humiliation in Adelaide in 2020, when they were bowled out for 36 in their second innings.
India bounced back to win that series, but their revenge of 36 was still pending. After bundling out Australia for 91 in their second innings of the first Test, Rohit Sharma's boys would like to believe that they have settled the score.
Once India had reached 322-7 on Day 2, the writing was on the wall. The only point of interest was whether the Aussies could stretch the game to Day 4, which they couldn't against the guile of Ravichandran Ashwin (5-37) and the accuracy of Ravindra Jadeja (2-34) on a crumbling pitch.
The fact that Axar Patel (84) had helped India stretch their score to 400 in the first session added to the sense of helplessness that had already crept into the Aussie ranks.
Still, there was a job to do for India and Ashwin, with 31 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket, is a master at it. "You know how pitches like these are in the second innings. I was looking to bring the drive into play and get the results," Ashwin said after running through the Aussie top-order.
1/10:1st Test: Spinners shine as India crush Australia by an innings
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2/10:India take 1-0 lead
<p>Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja eviscerated Australia in just over two hours to hand India a crushing innings-and-132-run victory inside three days of the opening Test. The hosts took a commanding first-innings lead of 223, then skittled out Australia for 91 to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.</p>AP
3/10:Australia collapse in one session
<p>Steve Smith was left to survey the ruins on 25 after Ashwin, who took five wickets in the innings and eight in the match, triggered a complete batting collapse inside a single session.<br /></p>AP
4/10:Fifer for Ashwin
<p>Ashwin rattled the opposition batting with his off-spin as he sent back Usman Khawaja (five), David Warner (10) and Matt Renshaw (two).<br /></p>ANI
5/10:Two wickets for Jadeja
<p>Jadeja, who grabbed five in the first innings, took two wickets including Marnus Labuschagne -- Australia's first-innings top-scorer with 49 -- trapped lbw for 17.<br /></p>AFP
6/10:Ashwin runs through Aussie batters
<p>But Ashwin ruled the afternoon to run through the Australian batting, which fell flat on a pitch where India's tail -- including Axar Patel (84) and Mohammed Shami (37) -- scored handsomely in the first session.<br /></p>PTI
7/10:Shami finishes off Aussie innings
<p>Shami bowled Nathan Lyon for the ninth wicket to extend the session and finished the job when he trapped Scott Boland lbw.<br /></p>Getty Images
8/10:Memorable debut for Murphy
<p>Debutant spinner Todd Murphy was the tourists' sole saving grace, adding two more wickets on Saturday morning to return figures of 7-124.<br /></p>Getty Images
9/10:Murphy takes seven-for
<p>Murphy, who on Friday became the youngest Australian spinner to bag five in his first Test, bowled Jadeja for 70 early in the morning session to end an 88-run eighth-wicket partnership with Axar.<br /></p>ANI
10/10:Jadeja falls early on Day 3
<p>Jadeja, a left-hander making his international return from a knee injury, added just four to his overnight 66.<br /></p>ReutersWith a lead of 223 in the bag, Ashwin knew that a few boundaries wouldn't have any consequence. So, instead of trying to push the ball through, he gave it a little more air and targeted the rough that had developed outside the left-hander's off-stump.
It needed patience and ability on the part of players like Usman Khawaja and David Warner to deal with it, but by the evidence of the first Test, they don't seem to have either.
Khawaja perished trying an expansive cover drive in the second over to a ball pitched in the rough while Warner's 41-ball stay in the crease was a torture for himself and those watching him.
He looked utterly clueless and when the umpire gave him out leg-before, it was relief for one and all.
While Ashwin was making the ball talk, Jadeja was keeping it tight at the other end and letting the natural variation in the pitch do whatever needed to be done. Marnus Labuschagne couldn't deal with the turn that the Day 3 pitch had on offer and was caught plumb in front, leaving the Aussies in a deep hole.
"I can't say enough about the influence Jadeja keeps having in these games. He has been such a brilliant bowler and at times I really feel lucky that I have him as my bowling partner. Not that Axar is a lesser bowler either," Ashwin said.
Captain Rohit, in fact, gave the ball to Axar just to allow him to get among the wickets. And in no time, he too had a wicket to his name to ensure that the spin-trio was well and truly in business.
Ashwin, meanwhile, seemed to have a plan for every batsman. When left-hander Alex Carey came in with the mindset of sweeping everything, Ashwin started bowling a little quicker and straightened it just a bit. Carey, trying to reverse sweep one after connecting a couple, fell leg-before.
By now the goalpost for the Aussies had shifted to surviving the session, which they didn't as Rohit Sharma, who himself had a magnificent game both with the bat and as a captain, brought in Mohammed Shami to successfully mop up the tail.
