Just as Indians were getting ready to bat for around half an hour, Starc was in a mood to counter attack
Umesh Yadav gave a brilliant exhibition of reverse swing bowling before Mitchell Starc's rearguard half-century helped Australia reach a competitive 256 for nine against India on a difficult first day track in the first Test.
On a pitch that could be termed a rank turner, it was fast bowler Umesh, who showed exemplary skills with the old ball, returning with figures of 4/32 in 12 overs reducing Australia to 205 for nine before Starc staged a recovery with a ferocious counter-attack.
Starc used his long handle to good effect as he blasted the second new ball getting five fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 57 off 58 balls. Enroute to his ninth half-century in Tests, Starc also completed 1000 runs in the longest format.
Along with Josh Hazlewood (1 batting), he added 55 runs for the unbroken 10th wicket giving the team's total more than a semblance of respectability considering the conditions that they batted on.
Among the top-order, it was young left-handed opener Matt Renshaw (68 off 156 balls), who showed technique as well as temperament despite a stomach bug that forced him to retire at the fall of David Warner's (38) wicket.
Opting to bat, Australian openers Warner and Renshaw tackled the spinners well, especially Ravichandran Ashwin (2/59 in 34 overs), who not only got the ball to turn big and but also bowled tight lines.
Renshaw, who was batting confidently till then, suffered a stomach bug, which meant that two new batsmen in skipper Steve Smith (27) and Shaun Marsh (16) were at the crease.
Indians took charge from the second session as Australians went into a shell and the pitch made matters worse for them with Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja (2/74 in 24 overs) strangulating the batsmen.
Yadav was exceptional with the old ball as he got it to reverse at 140k plus speed. Matthew Wade and Nathan Lyon had no answer to the swinging deliveries while Wriddhiman Saha's exceptional catch got rid of Steve O'Keefe.
But just as Indians were getting ready to bat for around half an hour, Starc was in a mood to counter attack, throwing his bat at everything. The second new ball helped his cause as it came on nicely to the bat as he plonked his front-foot and hit the spinners through the line.
