India fought hard through the day to finish 3/172 and be in good position for day three on the threatening Optus Stadium pitch in Perth.

Here are all the big talking points from the first day of the second Test in Adelaide.

INDIA’S OPENING WOES EXPOSED

India may have two of the top five batsmen in the world right now but Australia brutally exposed one of their biggest weaknesses.

Virat Kohli is currently ranked number one and Cheteshwar Pujara sits at number four on the Test cricket rankings but India’s openers have been less than stellar in 2018.

A 12-ball duck for Murali Vijay and a two for KL Rahul left the tourists in a heap once again, before Pujara and Kohli came to the rescue.

The side’s early blushes were swept aside courtesy of a 74-run partnership. For Indian fans, this was more of what they’ve come to expect.

The website The Quint crunched the pair’s numbers and it is fairly bleak for the Indian openers.

The partnership has faltered throughout the year with the pair opening the innings 18 times in nine matches, scoring 412 together at an average of 22.89 and a highest partnership of 63.

More damning is the stat that Rahul has been bowled or LBW in 42 per cent in his Test innings.

Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman said Vijay’s technique was looking poor as well as he was “chasing and playing away from his body”, which was leading to his downfall.

Since November 2016, Vijay averages over 50 at home with six centuries but has failed to pass 50 when away at an average of 13.08.

With neither opener taking control of the innings, it potentially gives Indian selectors a headache.

With “the next Tendulkar” 19-year-old Prithvi Shaw recovering from an ankle injury he sustained in the Tour match against the Cricket Australia XI, soon he will be breathing down their necks.

Rahul is just 26 and considered a longer term option at the top of the order with the 34-year-old Vijay was long expected to make way to Shaw.

Shaw has been grabbing headlines for years already and has been saddled with the tag of being the “next Sachin Tendulkar”.

As a 14-year-old, he hit 546 off just 330 balls for his school and has been watched with anticipation since.

Shaw scored his maiden Test century — off just 99 balls — on debut last month and scored 237 runs overall in the two test matches that he played against the West Indies.

STARC’S PERFECT RESPONSE

Mitchell Starc has responded to the intense criticism of his performance in Adelaide with a perfect start with the new ball.

The Aussie quick struck a decisive blow on the stroke of lunch, unleashing a lethal inswinging yorker to knock over Murali Vijay for a duck.

It was a textbook inswinging yorker from the left-armer Starc as he cut straight through the Indian opener.

Shane Warne had slammed Starc’s performance in Adelaide as “atrocious” while Mark Waugh also piled on the quick and said he didn’t believe the left-armer had bowled well for 12 months.

Former Aussie quick Mitchell Johnson also questioned his body language.

Starc’s wife, Aussie star Alyssa Healy, has since twice gone into bat for Starc, pointing out his sustained impressive numbers with the ball in hand.

The fact that the criticism dominated the build-up into the first day at Optus Stadium reportedly stung Starc, who has never forgotten Warne’s famous criticism that he was “soft”.

But it was a decisive answer from Starc in just the third over of the Indian innings.

“Look at the reaction from Mitchell Starc,” Fox Cricket commentator Adam Gilchrist said. “Who knows how much this questioning and criticism has been on his mind but you cannot question that.”

It has now been reported that Starc is privately “furious” about the ongoing comments that have clouded his selection for the rest of the Test series.

“Starc is believed to be furious over the latest bake from Warne, having already been criticised this week by former selector Mark Waugh and pace legend Mitchell Johnson,” Fairfax Media’s Andrew Wu reported.

The same report claims Starc’s fitness was at the centre of a disagreement within the Australian national panel of selectors — Trevor Hohns, Greg Chappell and coach Justin Langer.

Speaking to Fox Cricket’s Mark Howard before play, Starc addressed criticism about his performance in the first Test and said he was actually pretty pleased with how the ball came out, bar a few overs with the second new ball in both innings.

“Bar about three overs I was pretty happy,” Starc said. “Stuck to my plans, did my role for the team.

“I’ve worked on my consistency over the last few years and my economy rate was the best its been for three years so that’s something I’ve tried to work on for a few years and it’s great to see it come to life in the games.

“Bar three overs, I was a little bit off with the second new ball in the first innings, and the second new one in the second innings.

“Bar three overs I was pretty happy with how the ball came out.”

Starc’s limited red-ball cricket before the lead-up to the First Test — where he played in Australia’s limited overs series against South Africa and had just one Sheffield Shield game under his belt — was heavily criticised by some Aussie commentators.

He was also pulled out of NSW’s final Shield clash against Western Australia.

It has now emerged that at least one selector was not happy with Langer’s decision to rest Starc up to save him for the long series against India.

Meanwhile, Aussie great Simon Katich on Friday expressed his support for Warne’s criticism of Starc.

“Warney’s right in a way — his previous 12 first-class games he has been averaging in the 60s with the ball, so there’s a little bit going on there,” Katich told SEN Radio.

“With the wides and byes that he bowled in Adelaide — and they should have been wides — that sort of stuff indicates that maybe not everything is right with his action.

“I’m sure he’s worked hard on it in the last couple of days in between the Tests and he’ll want to get out there and fire — particularly with the new ball, because that’s where Australia needs to open India up.”

AUSSIE WRECKAGE AFTER EARLY INDIAN SINS

Australia started the day at 6/277 with Tim Paine and Pat Cummins returning to the crease.

With the pitch still showing a few gremlins, it could have been all over very quickly for the Aussies but Paine and Cummins pushed the score out past 300.

It was a frustrating display early from India’s seamers.

Fox Cricket commentator Mike Hussey said India’s lengths had been off in the morning session, accusing them of bowling far too short when it was clear full deliveries were proving most threatening.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan also tweeted India’s bowlers were getting their areas “all wrong” before they made their breakthroughs.

Channel 7 commentator Greg Blewett said the tail’s resistance was “heartbreaking” for India.

“It’s heartbreaking for an attack,” Blewett said. “You feel like you have done all the hard work and you can’t knock over the tail, which then means extra overs are bowled and that has an effect as the game goes on.”

It took more than an hour but India finally made the breakthrough when Umesh Yadav skittled Pat Cummins for 19.

Yadav hit the top of off stump as he beat Cummins’ defences, ending a 59-run seventh-wicket stand between the speedster and Tim Paine.

Jasprit Bumrah then struck two balls later, trapping Paine LBW for 38 as he was struck on the pad while standing well back in his crease with the score on 310.

India’s tactic was to bowl short at Paine, believing he’s susceptible to miscuing the pull shot, but it only found success when it actually attacked the stumps.

It took Virat Kohli a while to bring Yadav and Bumrah into the attack after starting with Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami and they didn’t take long to do the job for their captain.

Sharma learnt from his earlier mistakes when he came back for a second spell, getting a full ball to angle in to Mitchell Starc before swinging away.

Starc got an outside edge from an attempted cover drive that was well pouched by Rishabh Pant behind the stumps.

The next ball was almost identical and Josh Hazelwood went for a golden duck when he too edged to a diving Pant.

Australia lost its last four wickets for just 16 runs as India finally figured out the right areas to hit.

Speaking at lunch, Michael Vaughan said it took India too long to work out the right areas and that “This score is well above par”.

LYON CHOKES INDIAN SCORING

Nathan Lyon continues to be Mr Dependable for Australia, tying down India’s premier batsmen in a compelling session of Test cricket in Perth.

The offspinner’s battle with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara concluded with India 2-70 in their first innings,in reply to Australia’s 326, at tea on day two.

Lyon’s figures for the session — 10 overs, three maidens, 49 dot balls and 0-16 — reinforced his ability to tie down an end, giving Tim Paine the freedom to rotate quicks Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

Arguably the only loose delivery Lyon sent down came in his final over when Kohli capitalised on the full-pitched ball and unleashed a trademark cover drive for four.

Lyon ended the day with 0/34 off 22 overs with four maidens.

Kohli, who was unbeaten on 37 at tea on Saturday, had far greater success against Hazlewood, taking 13 runs from one of the metronomic paceman’s overs.

Kohli finished the day unbeaten on 82 off 181 balls.

While the pitch has been relatively tame on day two, the variable bounce on offer the previous day highlighted the key role Lyon could play later in the Test.

Having lost offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin to an abdominal strain, India face the prospect of batting last on a deteriorating pitch.

“I think the bounce that Nathan will get will be crucial on this wicket,” opener Aaron Finch said.

“He talks about how much more effective he is when you do have that bounce because you can get guys caught on the crease;it brings in your bat-pad and your leg slip.

“No doubt he’ll be excited by it.”

Lyon also continued his much-improved batting form, compiling his fourth straight unbeaten score — a streak which includes knocks of 24 and 38 during the first Test in Adelaide.

— AAP

COX’S AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION CONTINUES

The Collingwood Magpies’ hulking Texan star Mason Cox has proven himself to be as Australian as apple pie.

The 211cm ruckman has been catching up on the cricket and had a traditional slam as he gets into some cricket slang.

The ‘walk of shame’ is something Cox has been obsessed with since starting to watch the cricket.

During the last match in Adelaide, Cox said he was enjoying the cruelty of the wicket’s falling.

We might have to get him to trade in his red, white and blue from some green and gold soon.

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