Australia's hopes of a breakthrough Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph in India are already in tatters after the hosts dominated day one of the first Test in Nagpur.
After electing to bat first on a turning pitch at VCA Stadium, the tourists were skittled for 177, before India raced to 1-77 at stumps.
India captain Rohit Sharma (56 not out) belted his Australian counterpart Pat Cummins for 13 runs off the first over in an ominous start to the home side's innings.
Cummins and Scott Boland — playing his first Test outside of Australia — are the visitors' only quicks as selectors opted to pick debutant spinner Todd Murphy (1-13) to partner star veteran Nathan Lyon.
Young Victorian Murphy — who is Australia's 465th Test player — claimed his maiden international wicket just before stumps, hanging onto a catch off his own bowling to dismiss KL Rahul (20).
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (0 not out) was sent out as a nightwatchman, surviving the last over.
Missing star quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, as well as allrounder Cameron Green, Australia's four frontline bowlers could be in for some serious time in the field.
Australia's vulnerabilities facing the turning ball were badly exposed as it lost eight wickets to spin, with star all-rounder Ravi Jadeja taking 5-42.
A difficult pitch to bat on it may be, but it was still Australia's lowest first-innings total since 2016 as it chases its first series win in India for 19 years.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja — playing his first Test since July — claimed the key wickets of Marnus Labuschagne (49) and Steve Smith (37) as Australia's hopes of posting a respectable total in the first Test all but died with their dismissals.
Australia was 2-76 at lunch but lost six wickets during the middle session after Labuschagne and Smith attempted to revive the innings when they came together at 2-2.
Peter Handscomb, who was recalled for his first Test since January 2019, made a valiant 31 but was the ninth man out after also falling to Jadeja.
Pre-match talk centred around the unusual methods used by ground staff to curate the pitch in a bid to capitalise on India's trio of spinners — Jadeja, Ashwin and Axar Patel.
Openers David Warner (1) and Usman Khawaja (1) fell to quicks, but the other eight wickets were claimed by Jadeja and Ashwin (3-42).
Khawaja was out on the first ball of the second over after India successfully reviewed a LBW shout off Mohammed Siraj (1-30).
The ball appeared to be veering down leg-side but DRS showed it was hitting Khawaja's leg stump.
There was no doubt about Warner's dismissal, with the aggressive veteran's off-stump careering away after a brilliant delivery by Mohammed Shami (1-18).
Australia selectors made the bombshell call to drop dynamic left-hander Travis Head, who is the world's number-four ranked batter, preferring Matthew Renshaw and Handscomb.
Despite averaging more than 50 and scoring two centuries last year, Head's poor record in Asia counted against him as Australia attempts to end a 19-year series drought in India.
Renshaw was out for a golden duck as the Queenslander fell the ball after Labuschagne was stumped.
India handed debuts to Twenty20 sensation Suryakumar Yadav and wicketkeeper KS Bharat, who replaced Rishabh Pant after the star suffered serious injuries in a car accident in December.
AAP/ABC
Look back at how the action unfolded in our day-one blog.
Key events
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We'll wrap things up here
By Simon Smale
Thanks very much for following the action with me today.
I'll be back tomorrow to see if Australia can make a dent in India's batting line up.
Until then, good bye.
I've got a bad feeling about this
By Simon Smale
I've got a bad feeling about this match
- Mike
I don't think that's an unreasonable feeling, Mike.
But hey, there's still a long way to go.
Stumps: India 1-77 (Rohit 56, Ashwin 0), trail by 100
By Simon Smale
Well, a day that started badly, got a fair bit better up to lunch, then fell in on itself fairly comprehensively has ended with India in a dominant position.
The only bright point was the maiden Test wicket for Todd Murphy, a huge moment for him,
But Australia needs a lot of things to go its way tomorrow if it is to have any chance of salvaging something from the match.
There was a lot of talk pre-match about the pitch - but has there been demons there?
Sure, it turned, but you'd expect that in India, wouldn't you? You rarely hear opposition teams moaning about another fast, bouncy Gabba pitch...
24th over - the final over of the day
By Simon Smale
Nathan Lyon will bowl it.
BIG SHOUT! A PROLONGED SHOUT TOO!
Lyon likes it - was that pad first? Blimey that might have been close - but Australia opts not to review.
I wouldn't mind seeing that on DRS - it was a decent stride forward, might have gone over the stumps.
There are long shadows across the pitch as Lyon comes in again and Rohit takes a single.
Ashwin will look to see out the end of the day now, four balls for him to face.
Four men around the bat, slip, leg slip, bat pad, silly point.
They're in Ashwin's face, and Ashwin stares them down to end the first day of the series.
In Todd we trust
By Simon Smale
Woohoo! Murphy's rules!
- Mike
23rd over - One to come
By Simon Smale
Ravichandran Ashwin is in as night watchman.
Not a bad one to call on, he has five Test hundreds to his name.
He defends with men all around the bat to see out the over.
OUT! MURPHY MAKES THE BREAKTHROUGH!
By Simon Smale
Oh boy did Australia need that!
KL Rahul is the man who has to go, caught and bowled for 20 off 71 balls.
And it's Todd Murphy who has his first Test wicket!
There was some big turn there as KL Rahul looked to clip Murphy away.
He's ended up clipping it straight back to the bowler and what a moment.
His family are all here, they've seen him pick up a baggy green already - and now he's an Australian Test wicket taker. Amazing.
23rd over - Todd Murphy to bowl.
By Simon Smale
KL Rahul will get two - a nice clip through midwicket.
He defends the next couple, solid defence too.
Rohit Sharma scores 50!
By Simon Smale
It's 51 from 66 balls and it's been a magnificent innings from the skipper.
He's attacked the Aussie bowlers, particularly his opposite captain Pat Cummins, and he's reaped the rewards.
FOUR MORE! Passed 50, why not keep going? A beautiful, aggressive drive to wide mid off for another boundary and he's having a day out in the middle, is Rohit Sharma.
End of the over.
Dominant from Sharma.
22nd over - Nathan Lyon again
By Simon Smale
Lyon carefully places his sunglasses on the hat of Richard Illingworth, very reverently.
Cummins, Lyon and Labuschagne are having a big conversation.
Just three overs left today.
Some 18 balls - Australia needs a wicket in one of them.
Three, nicely driven through the covers by Rohit Sharma and Cummins has to give chase.
KL Rahul defends.
Turn in to the right hander, who fends it away to short mid wicket for no run.
That keeps a bit low, but Rahul pushes it away anyway for a single to mid on.
Rohit is on 47, and sweeps beautifully for four!
21st over - Todd Murphy continues
By Simon Smale
KL Rahul is not having an easy time of it out there at the moment, he's 16 off 59 and can't seem to get Murphy away.
He defends the first couple but then slaps the ball away for a single to long on.
Murphy fields off his own bowling.
Rohit uses his wrists to work the debutant away to square leg to run an easy single.
KL Rahul defends down in front of his pads for no run to end the over - another tidy one.
20th over - Nathan Lyon is back
By Simon Smale
Strange, one over from Cummins, Lyon staying from the same end as before.
Around the wicket, Rohit defends.
Rohit comes forward and flicks the ball to backward square leg, there is some excitement among the close fielders which seems to confuse Rohit and they don't take the run.
Oh that's kept low down the leg side, Rohit swung at it but missed, Carey took a cracking grab down low on the leg side that earns him an appeal from Warner at leg slip.
CLOSE FROM LYON! This is much better from Lyon, that last ball skidding on past the outside edge.
Every Australian player on the field holds the head in their hands.
19th over - Murphy will continue
By Simon Smale
Nice flight from over the wicket this time, Rohit comes forward and defends back down the pitch.
Now he crabs forward to defend again.
Still two catchers on the leg side, three in all: slip, leg slip and bat pad.
Solid defence, Rohit using his feet to get to the pitch.
Now he'll take a single to point, again a decent ball, that time the bat just angling away from the stumps.
Around the wicket to Rahul, who fends off his pads for no run to the leg slip.
18th over - Pat Cummins is back
By Simon Smale
There are seven overs left today.
Let's not beat around the bush, Pat was off in his first spell - comprehensively schooled by his opposite skipper in that mini battle.
Solid and on the money first up from Cummins - well bowled. Full and outside off to KL Rahul, who defends.
Straighter this time, Rahul defends solidly once again.
Four! Driven nicely through the covers for his first boundary of the day. Nicely played. Bit too full and wide.
Rahul defends the next.
Very full, Rahul mis-times the drive and Cummins fields off his own bowling.
And then he finishes with a wild wide one down the leg side - well, wild by his own impeccable standards.
Not bene his day with the ball so far.
17th over - More from Murphy
By Simon Smale
CLOSE! Oh that's unlucky from Murphy, an inside edge flying safe of the two close leg-side fielders.
Rahul with half a life there, as he sends a charging Rohit back to the non-strikers end.
His line has been excellent and he's so consistent with both line and length.
There aren't too many bad balls coming in here, it's very impressive, mature stuff from the debutant.
A single off the last ball ruins another prospective maiden international maiden over.
16th over - Lyon continues
By Simon Smale
Two Australian off spinners bowling in tandem in Test cricket. What a time to be alive.
Rahul defends the first and then tries to clip the second into the midwicket region to no avail.
He succeeds this time to get a single.
That's the 50 partnership for this pair
FOUR! Over-pitched and punished through cover point. Too easy.
High expectations
By Simon Smale
All we need from Murphy is a hattrick. Nothing special.
- Old timer
15th over - Murphy continues
By Simon Smale
KL Rahul leans back and cuts nicely through point for at least one, they'll run two. Nicely played and the first sign of positivity from the Indian opener.
Good ball, just catching the edge of the toe end of Rahul's bat after keeping low and skidding on.
Now he uses his wrists to flick the ball to midwicket for an easy single.
Turn from the leg stump that has Rohit fending to square leg, interesting the two close fielders on the leg side.
A dot ends another good over from Murphy, who is proving a threat so far.
14th over - Lyon
By Simon Smale
Around the wicket, turning back into Rahul at pace, who fends to the on side.
Rahul fends away for a single.
BEATEN! Lovely ball from Lyon, Rohit fends forward and the ball did not turn as much as he thought it would. Well taken by Carey
Rohit pads up down the pitch and fends the ball towards Handscomb under the helmet at bat pad, who makes an acrobatic stop but can't hold the catch. Was there bat involved? Australia may think so.
SIX! Rohit goes BANG over long off with a hop and a skip down the pitch - lovely shot to release the pressure gauge and bring the crowd alive once more.
13th over - Murphy will bowl another
By Simon Smale
Round the wicket, a leg stump line, three close catchers, and KL Rahul defends.
BIG APPEAL! Murphy likes it a lot! I think it was high but not a bad shout. Australia won't review. Yeah probably high.
Good line and length from the debutant though, turning from off stump and hitting in line with middle from around the wicket.
KL Rahul is scrabbling around for runs at the moment but gets a single to square leg off the last to move to 6 from 37 balls and ruin Murphy's hopes of a maiden.
