After the injustice felt upon defeat in the second Test in Sydney and the uncertainty caused by the “Bollyline” affair, India enjoyed a memorable day on which 15 wickets fell. Not only did Anil Kumble, their captain, become the third bowler to take 600 Test wickets, they confounded all expectation by bowling out Australia for their lowest Test total for two years, a paltry 212 on a true pitch in temperatures that soared as high as 42C (107F).

The swinging ball, so central to their defeat in the Ashes series of 2005, was the prime reason for Australia’s improbable collapse in 50 overs. Rudra Pratap Singh and Irfan Pathan, India’s left-arm bowlers, swung the ball late, but most importantly off the fullish length required at the Waca.

Pathan, in his first appearance of the series, removed both openers in his second over. First, Chris Rogers, making his Test debut after Matthew Hayden’s withdrawal with a hamstring strain, shuffled across and was leg-before to a ball that held its line; then Phil Jaques, driving ambitiously at a swinging half-volley, edged to second slip, where V. V. S. Laxman held a sharp chance.

Singh tempted Mike Hussey into playing at an outswinger, giving Mahendra Singh Dhoni the first of five catches and the West Australian his first Test duck. Two fine leg cutters from Ishant Sharma, the beanpole seam bowler, resulted in edges from Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.

It would have been even worse for the home side had Sachin Tendulkar taken a head-high chance that Andrew Symonds offered to first slip when on three.

Kumble, though, broke a dangerous sixth-wicket stand of 102 in 17 overs to reach his milestone. Symonds, trying to cut, was surprised by extra bounce and was caught at slip from a deflection off the wicketkeeper.

Gilchrist, whose pugnacious 55 took him 61 balls, was also confounded by one that Singh got to nip back and lift. Singh mopped up the tail from round the wicket as Australia edged past their total of 190 at Lord’s in 2005 but fell just short of their 214 at Trent Bridge the same year, the last match in which they were beaten.

When India resumed in the morning, they surrendered their last four wickets in 17 balls, Mitchell Johnson returning four for 86, his best Test figures. Little can he have imagined that he would be bowling again in the final hour, when India lost Wasim Jaffer to a catch at gully but consolidated their position.