It didn't take long for things to go wrong for Australia in Nagpur.
After all the talk of the pitch and the prodigious turn it was likely to provide for India's trio of tweakers, it was the two seamers who had Australia 2-2, with both openers back in the sheds.
India went on to dominate to the tune of victory by an innings and 132 runs, after Australia were bowled out for 92 in their second innings, the lowest-ever score in India.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma told the host broadcaster that the fast start was the most crucial part of India's victory.
"Those first two overs from the seamers … 2-2 to start a game like that, you're pretty much in the ascendancy," Sharma said.
"You can say that because when you have two down for no runs on the board, the opposition is always under pressure.
"We know when you're playing a series like this, it is important to start well."
It is fair to say that Australia was on the back foot from that moment on — but it was possibly the case even before a ball had even been bowled.
Player of the match Ravindra Jadeja bulldozed his way through Australia's line-up, taking particular delight in tormenting the lefties that were so under so much pressure thanks to the doom-mongering from some sectors of the Australian media about an unevenly prepared pitch that was supposed to assist India's left-arm spinners against the plethora of left-handers on Australia's batting card.
After the brilliant opening salvo from Mohammed Shami and Mohamed Siraj, the next eight wickets all fell to spin — although few if any of those balls pitched in the much-talked-about area outside off stump.
There was spin — this is India after all, where pitches do turn early (the 2004 track at the old VCA Ground in Nagpur providing the exception to the rule).
But was that spin egregious? Certainly no more egregious than the bounce and pace batters regularly face in Australia.
However, the seeds of doubt had been planted in the batters' minds — and even if the Nagpur ground staff didn't bother to water them, they were clearly taking root.
"[India's] spinners are always going to be hard work when the wicket is spinning," captain Pat Cummins said after India's spinners claimed a total of 16 wickets in the match.
"That first innings, yeah, the wicket spun but it wasn't unplayable."
Aussie left-handers struggled
As predicted, it was the left-handers dominating Australia's top-to-middle order that were in the sights of India's spinners most, with those lefties averaging just 7.6 in that first innings, compared to 24.8 for the right-handers.
Yet when Australia's bowlers had the opportunity on the same pitch against India's own left-handed batters, they averaged a whopping 77 runs each (India's right-handers averaged 29.5).
The lefty charge was led by the orchestrators of Australia's first-innings collapse Jadeja, alongside Axar Patel for an 88-run partnership for the eighth wicket that was the best of the match.
Jadeja had moments of doubt in his 185-ball innings, surviving two reviewed LBW decisions on the basis that he was struck outside the line of the stumps by the breadth of a fingernail.
Fortunate, yes, yet that forward press to the turning ball was in stark contrast to the technique shown by an Australian line-up that repeatedly retreated into their crease — particularly in the second innings, where six of the wickets to fall, fell LBW.
In Australia's second innings, Usman Khawaja chased a wide one and was caught, while Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Alex Carey were all dismissed by balls that straightened if not went straight on with the arm.
It felt like Australia had got so caught up in worrying about the extravagant turn they were told to expect, that they were done by the straight ones.
"Hopefully, our players are very embarrassed by that performance," the man who lends his name in part to the trophy the two teams are playing for, Allan Border, said on Fox Sports.
"It's just poor all-round."
As India amassed 400 in their first innings, Sharma provided the blueprint, scoring 120 in which he mixed attacking flare with patient accumulation.
"The last few years, the kind of pitches we have been playing in India, you've got to have some sort of application, some sort of clear mindset and some sort of plan about how you want to go about and get those runs," Sharma said of his innings.
"You need to be slightly unorthodox as well, you need to use your feet, try and get to the pitch of the ball and at the same time try and put pressure on the bowler as well.
"You can't let the bowlers bowl six balls on the spot, you have to try and do something different.
"There are so many, so many things that you can do … and it's important when you play on pitches like that you need to understand what is your strength, what are the things you can do."
Mike Tyson and countless other boxers have said everyone has a plan until they get punched — and make no mistake, India landed with all its punches in this Test.
However, it was easy to see how Australia's minds were being clouded by the prospect of the demon turner of Nagpur.
Did the selectors lose their Head?
It was that over-thinking of the threat outside off to the left-handers that likely meant Travis Head was left out of the side despite a stunning summer that saw him rise to become the fourth-best batter in Test cricket, according to the ICC rankings.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing — while the selection of Todd Murphy paid off to the tune of seven wickets, the absence of Travis Head left an unquantifiable deficit in Australia's potential batting totals.
It might not have made a difference if Head had been there, but his recent record with the bat — he's averaged 79.25 in six Tests in Australia since the start of 2022 — suggests he should perhaps have been included.
Of course, his average of 15.16 in five Tests in that same time period in subcontinent conditions, ie Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is another factor that played against him and likely cost him his place.
The issue Australia now faces, is likely more of the same in terms of turning decks.
Next up is a trip to the capital, where India has not lost a Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium since 1987.
It has not hosted a Test since 2017 though, and of the 27 wickets to fall in that draw with Sri Lanka, 10 fell to pace bowlers.
It's unlikely the pitch will favour seamers from Friday, so Australia needs to find a plan and clear its heads, and fast, or else risk surrendering their hopes of regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the first hurdle.
If Cameron Green can return in time for the trip to Delhi, he will add some balance to the side.
There could also be a case made for the possible inclusion of any of Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Starc, Head or Mitch Swepson and Ashton Agar.
Nobody said playing in India was easy — they've only lost two of their last 43 Tests at home spanning a decade, after all.
But things may have just got a whole lot harder.
