Familiar heroes from both sides made their presence felt, but while Jasprit Bumrah plugged away almost single-handedly, Travis Head was supported by a welcome return to form for Steve Smith at the Gabba on Sunday. Consequently, Australia dominated Day Two of the third Test, pulling away after a tricky opening session to flay a tiring attack. Scoring at more than 5.5 runs an over in the extended final session, Australia ended the day on 405-7, a commanding tally especially considering that they were asked to bat first by Rohit Sharma.

Overnight 28 without loss, Australia were well served by their top three — Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne both negotiated more than 50 deliveries while Khawaja’s opening partner, Nathan McSweeney, survived 49 — after which Head went into overdrive. Bumrah, who had bowled 11 overs by the time Head arrived in a blaze of boundaries, accounted for Khawaja and McSweeney in his first spell of the morning and Nitish Kumar Reddy gave the visitors the bonus wicket of Labuschagne, smartly caught at second slip by Virat Kohli, but once the ball got older, Head cashed in like he often does when he wears his aggressive avatar.