Natarajan claimed 3 wickets in Australia's first innings on Test debut.
Natarajan received his maiden Test cap from bowling coach Bharat Arun ahead of the toss in Brisbane.
See Also: Rohit Sharma says he doesn’t regret playing aerial shot off Nathan Lyon on Day 2 at Gabba
The left-arm pacer, who impressed one and all during the white-ball series against Australia, returned with the figures of 3 for 78 as India bundled out the hosts for 369 in the first innings at the Gabba. Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Wade and Josh Hazlewood were his victims.
For his stunning display on red-ball debut, Natarajan garnered praises from the cricket fraternity, including India’s Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma.
"Natarajan is a bright prospect for us, he showed a lot of discipline when he played for India in the white-ball format. He was coming off a good IPL and he carried that confidence into the white-ball series against Australia. Then to have a Test match like that, first spell he bowled was very accurate, if I have to judge," Rohit said during the virtual press conference after the second day’s play in Brisbane.
"Somebody who is playing his first Test, we can really say that he understands his bowling really well, it is something that India wants. Natarajan was trying to do what was expected out of him and I think he looks like a bright prospect for sure," he added.
Off-spinner Washington Sundar, who also made his Test debut in Brisbane, picked up 3 for 89 in Australia’s first essay.
Commenting further on Natarajan and Sundar's performance, Rohit said: "They have played some first-class games coming into this Test. Playing against Australia in Australia was never going to be easy. But they showed a lot of character and they understood what the team expected them to do. We wanted to make sure that once Saini walked off, how we can contain and put pressure on Australian batsmen by not giving them easy runs, run-scoring can be easy here as it is a good pitch. Playing their first match, they showed a lot of character and discipline and yes, the team was expecting them to do something and both Sundar and Natarajan did that really well."
Rain forced early stumps on day two at the Gabba. India finished the day on 62/2, still trailing Australia by 307 runs.
(Quotes from ANI)