Australia vs India: Virat Kohli fails again as 17 wickets fall on opening day of first Test in Perth

There were questions about India’s batting coming into the series after they were bowled out for 46, 156 and 121 in their 3-0 defeat against New Zealand.

Opener and captain Rohit Sharma is missing this match following the birth of his second child, while number three Shubman Gill was not considered for selection after injuring a thumb in India’s warm-up within the squad.

That led to KL Rahul opening and Padikkal, playing in his second Test, coming in at three.

With the pressure on Kohli to hold the innings and the makeshift line-up together, he brought energy to the field and looked proactive, but once again he failed.

It was beautiful bowling from Josh Hazlewood to set him up and go a little shorter and he found extra bounce to bring the outside edge.

It was Kohli’s fifth single-figure score in his last 10 Test innings – where he averages just 21.2 compared to a career average of 47.6. His average innings has lasted just 29.4 balls, down from 80.3 in his entire career.

The rest of the Indian batting line-up was blown away by the Australian seamer’s accuracy.

There was hardly a loose ball and subtle line changes often brought the edge, with nine of the wickets caught behind the stumps by Alex Carey or cordon.

Rahul’s dismissal, taken behind on review, was controversial, with the Indian adamant that the noise from the snickometer technology was batting, rather than an outside edge.

Pant, the one Indian batter in form, offered resistance along with Kumar Reddy – with both offered a life – but Australia’s persistent nagging paid off.