India's captain Jasprit Bumrah (centre) celebrates the victory with teammates. — AFP

India overcame a challenging start to defeat Australia by 295 runs in the first Test in Perth on Monday, setting a strong precedent for the rest of the series and dispelling any doubts about their form. Stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah led the charge with 3-42, earning the player-of-the-match title after earlier picking up 5-30, as India secured a comprehensive victory within four days, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

This marks Australia's first loss at Perth's new Optus Stadium, where visiting teams have struggled with the fast and bouncy wicket. However, India, after being bowled out for 150 in the first innings, drew strength from Bumrah's exceptional bowling, dismissing Australia for 104 before posting a formidable score of 487 for six in the second innings.

Chasing an unlikely 534, Australia were all out for 238 in the fourth innings, with Bumrah finishing the match with eight wickets. "We're a new side, so I wanted to put myself in tough scenarios when we needed to do something, to make the job a bit easier for the new guys coming in," Bumrah said.

Travis Head's valiant 89 delayed the inevitable, but Australia managed only 238. The hosts will have many questions and few answers ahead of the day-night second Test in Adelaide, starting December 6, after being outplayed by the tourists. "We couldn't get the breakthroughs, I thought they played really well. Not much really went our way this game," Australia skipper Pat Cummins said. "We're clearly well off the mark, there's a lot to work on."

Without a series win over India in four attempts since 2015, Australia now faces the reality that they have not won a home series after losing the opening Test for 55 years. Bumrah bowled magnificently throughout the match on a surface that was lively and bouncy on day one but turned into a lifeless pitch that defied Australia's bowlers for most of two days.

Two wickets late on the third day helped decimate Australia's top-order, leaving them 12-3 at stumps chasing an improbable 534, a highlight for Bumrah. However, it was a four-over spell late on day one that set the tone for India. The 30-year-old elected to bat first in seam-friendly conditions, a decision that has often paid off at Perth Stadium but one he might have regretted when his side was bowled out for a mere 150 by tea.

But with the home side reduced to 67-7 at stumps, courtesy of a spell from the skipper that accounted for debutant Nathan McSweeney, Usman Khawaja, and Steve Smith, the match had swung. India's captain, who will now hand the reins back to new-dad Rohit Sharma, celebrated his 11th five-wicket haul on the first ball of day two, drawing an edge from Alex Carey, before Harshit Rana (3-48) mopped up the tail, leaving Australia shell-shocked and all out for 104.

The match was decisively turned in India's favor during their second innings when opener Yashasvi Jaiswal recovered from a duck in his first dig to post a glorious 161, blending caution with youthful aggression. The 22-year-old bashed and slashed for 432 minutes, audaciously upper-cutting Josh Hazlewood for six over deep fine-leg to bring up his fourth test hundred. He was ably supported by KL Rahul (77) during a 201-run opening stand, and eventually fell playing a full-blooded cut off Mitch Marsh straight to Smith at point.

However, it was the return to form of India's batting stalwart Virat Kohli that drained the hosts of any hope of a turnaround. Kohli heaped misery on the beleaguered bowlers, who ended up fielding for 135 overs, compiling a pressure-free innings of 100 not out. He pierced the field with ease, and the fireworks started in earnest when Nitish Kumar Reddy, on his debut, came to the crease with a message that a declaration was imminent. Reddy hammered 38 not out from 27 balls in a knock more suitable for the Indian Premier League than a Test match, and Kohli upped the ante as well.

The largest cheer of the match, which attracted 96,463 people over four days, came when the 36-year-old swept Marnus Labuschagne, who alternated between harmless medium-pace and unthreatening leg-spin, for four, and India declared 487-6. "Virat scoring a hundred is a great sign for us," said Bumrah. With a blown kiss to his wife, Bollywood star Anushka Sharma, and Test century number 30 in the books, Reddy and Kohli left the field as Australia were left to contemplate how the game slipped away after such a strong start.

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