As it happened: India take decisive series lead with 295-run thrashing in Perth

And that’s all folks, for now anyway. Another somewhat astounding Test. That first session, when India were four for nowhere near enough on day one, feels a lifetime ago.

Some truly incredible performances from the tourists, with Jasprit Bumrah an absolute force Australia couldn’t reckon with, Yashasvi Jaiswal playing well beyond his years and Virat Kohli winding them back.

Alex Carey is bowled to seal Australia’s defeat.Credit: Getty Images

For the Aussies, very little to take out of this one aside from some serious headaches. Especially given India will only be stronger in Adelaide as Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill and possibly Mohammed Shami all try to force their way into a side that just won by 295 runs. What a time. Until the next one, hoo roo.

The debate over Marnus Labuschagne’s spot in the Australian Test team is about to be dialled up to 11.

Firstly, there are some concerning statistics surrounding a player who debuted in 2019 and showed so much promise in his early years in Test cricket.

Marnus Labuschagne’s spot in Australia’s side is under pressure. Credit: AP

Labuschagne has scored one century in his last 41 Test innings. In that time, he has made 1109 runs at an average of 30.8, with seven scores above 50.

His Test average, which was as high as 63.43 in January 2020, dropped to 48.45 after he was trapped in front by Jasprit Bumrah for three on Sunday night.

The manner of Labuschagne’s dismissals in Perth – lbw in each innings – indicates he is playing with a clouded mind, unsure whether to leave or play the ball and also at what tempo to bat.

There are technical issues in his game that need urgent work before the second Test, which starts on December 6 in Adelaide.

That is unless selectors make a big call and drop Labuschagne from the XI. Is it likely? No. Could it happen? Anything is possible.

Read the full story here.

The stand-in Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah is man of the match and rightly so with his game-changing figures of 8-72. What a bowler, one of the best we’ve seen to visit these shores.

There it is, Harshit Rana working Alex Carey and Josh Hazlewood over with some short stuff before finishing the innings and the match with a quality slower ball, maybe even an off-cutter there.

Pitched on middle and off and broke away, clipping Carey’s off stump and bowling him for 36.

India win by a monumental 295 runs and take a decisive lead into the Adelaide Test.

Hard to recall a team turning around such a shocking start to a Test – rolled for 150 on the first day, and then being so dominant thereafter.

Off the top of my head, England at the Gabba in 2010-11 when Alastair Cook hit a double hundred and the visitors finished 1-517 before going on to thrash Australia all summer long.

Virat Kohli (second from right) congratulates Jasprit Bumrah on India’s win.Credit: Getty Images

Harshit Rana gets one ball at Josh Hazlewood to finish his over and Hazlewood wears it on the helmet. He’s OK but that could have been nasty. Rana’s got a very good bouncer in him, and Hazlewood had no idea.

The Australian bowler his back on the delivery and it crunched straight into the back of his helmet. That one needs replacing as Hazlewood is checked by the team doctor. Rana and Virat Kohli were also asking about the big quick’s wellbeing immediately.

Australia: 9-235 (Carey 33*, Hazlewood 4*) trail India by 299 runs.

For all of Australia’s woes in Perth, things could always be worse. At least we’re not Ivory Coast, who managed a team total of just seven in a 264-run defeat to Nigeria in Lagos on Sunday, marking the lowest score ever recorded in a men’s Twenty20 International.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Nigeria’s Selim Salau scored 112 off 53 balls as the hosts posted 271 in the 2026 T20 World Cup regional qualifier.

In Ivory Coast’s meek reply, opener Ouattara Mohamed top-scored with four at the Tafawa Balewa Square Cricket Oval, while Mimi Alex, Maiga Ibrahim and Dje Claude each added one run to the total. Six batters fell for ducks.

The previous lowest score in a men’s T20 was 10 runs, held jointly by Mongolia and the Isle of Man. The lowest total in a women’s T20I is six, a mark shared by Maldives and Mali.

The 264-run winning margin was also the third-highest in a men’s T20 international.

Well, we’re now only one ball away. Washington Sundar only needs two to get rid of Nathan Lyon. He rips a straight one through a very open defence from the tail-ender, just kissing the top of off stump.

Josh Hazlewood now to the middle and we’re reviewing an appeal against Alex Carey for lbw, Harshit Rana resuming after tea. It was a muted appeal, Carey up on his toes and hit on his back thigh pad. No bat, and ball-tracking shows that the original call of not-out was the right one. Ball just heading over the stumps.

Australia: 9-227 (Carey 30*, Lyon 0) trail India by 307 runs.