Inasmuch as it was spin that, as widely expected, called the shots, India’s position of strength at the end of the first day owed itself also to excellent performances from their openers in both disciplines.

The new-ball duo of Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami struck with the seventh and 13th deliveries of the match respectively before ceding centrestage to Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. Once the spin twins combined for eight wickets to send Australia plummeting to 177 all out on the opening day of the four-Test series at the VCA Stadium on Thursday, the opening combine of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul stitched together a vital half-century stand, dragging India to 77 for one, exactly 100 in arrears, but with the early bragging rights.