Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul put India in a commanding position with their disciplined batting display on Day 2 of the first Test against Australia at the Optus Stadium, Perth.

Riding on Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul (5-30), the visitors bundled out the Aussies for a paltry 104 to secure a handy first-innings lead of 46 runs.

In the second innings, Jaiswal and Rahul made a strong start. The opening pair batted cautiously against the new ball and punished the opposition bowlers after getting set. Their approach didn’t only put India in the driver’s seat but also tired out the Australian attack.

Jaiswal ended the second day on 90* off 193 balls while Rahul remained unbeaten on 62 off 153 balls as the tourists reached 172/0 at stumps, stretching their lead to 218 runs.

Impressed with their exploits, India’s star batter Virat Kohli saluted Jaiswal and Rahul when the duo walked back at the close of play.

In fact, Kohli was out in the field training hard at the end of the day’s play. While his services with the bat were not needed on Saturday (November 23), he was padded up and ready to do the job had the situation demanded.

Notably, Kohli was dismissed for just 5 runs on Day 1 of the Perth Test. He was done in by the extra bounce generated by Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood.

Virat Kohli will be keen to change his fortunes in the second innings. The right-hander is expected to do well on this tour as he has played some of his best knocks Down Under.

Before the Perth Test, Kohli had played a total of 13 Tests on Australian soil, amassing 1352 runs at an average of 54.08 with six hundreds and four half-centuries.