Brief scores: Australia 260 and 143/4 ( Steve Smith 59*, Matt Renshaw 31; R Ashwin 3/68) lead India 105 (KL Rahul 64, Ajinkya Rahane 13; Steve O'Keefe 6/35, Starc 2/38) by 298 runs

India managed to recover from the early loss of both Kohli and Pujara, through a 50-run partnership between Rahane and Rahul. But they suffered a collapse of the biggest margins with Steve O’Keefe running riot claiming 5 wickets in a mad spell that saw India lose seven wickets in just for eleven runs. It wasn’t that the bowling was extraordinary, the Indian batsmen, cue Rahul and Jadeja, tried to attempt T20 shots during a Test match. The result India just crumbled in a matter of overs giving Australia a massive lead to take into their second innings.

What a horror show!! It was a trip back to the 90s as India failed to tighten the noose after some brilliant bowling display by Ashwin. Smith was let off the hook by Vijay, who dropped a regulation catch at leg slip when the Aussie captain was at 23. Abhinav Mukund was the next fielder who thought that India’s task wasn’t hard enough when he dropped Smith again at mid-on. Granted it was a difficult catch but in such tight games - and I hate to use this cliche - catches win you matches. Next, Mukund was at hand again when he dropped the Australian captain for a second time - this one the easiest of the lot- with Smith at 37. Let’s not even talk about the Renshaw drop because it was Smith who ended up with 59 of Australia’s 143. 

India also need a crash course on how to use DRS. After two surprising calls yesterday, India took it to a whole new level today opting for reviews that looked bad without a replay.

It’s true! Jadeja struggled to get into any sort of rhythm in the first innings and even though he got two wickets, he bowled almost 24 overs. O’Keefe, on the other hand, bowled just over 13 overs and claimed five wickets. Both players bowled over the wicket as traditional slow left-arm orthodox spinners do, but it was the length that played a major part in why the fortunes of the players were so different. 

Jadeja kept the ball short throughout the innings and even when he did not get too much success, he kept bowling the same ball over and over again - expecting a different result that never came. O’Keefe, however, varied his length a lot but made sure his line remained the same. The result - it was harder to pick him and it resulted in batsmen committing errors while playing him. 

It might be a while before Pune host another Test match

The curators in Pune are lucky that this game might not last the full five days because it is not a pitch worthy of Test match yet. No one would be surprised if the ground is not offered another Test match anytime soon again.