Reuters

Perth

David Warner smashed the fastest Test century by an opening batsman as Australia humbled India on the first day of the third Test yesterday, dismissing the tourists for 161 before racing to within 12 runs of that tally.

Warner’s 69-ball century was the joint fourth-fastest in Tests and, despite a knock on the head from a Umesh Yadav bouncer, he finished the day on 104 not out with Ed Cowan unbeaten on 40 and the hosts sitting pretty on 149 without loss.

The 25-year-old lefthander, playing his fifth Test, lit up the afternoon as he put the Indian bowlers to the sword and was cheered to rafters when brought up the hundred with a huge six, one of three in an innings which also included 13 fours.

“We had to capitalise on what the bowlers did,” said Warner. “I’ve always said if the ball’s in my zone, I’m going to go after it and that’s what I did.

“Here at the Waca, you’re going to get value for your shots. I just backed my game, backed my instincts and I’m a hundred not out.”

After captain Michael Clarke had won the toss and sent India in to bat on a lively green wicket, Australia barely put a foot wrong throughout a hot and humid day at the Waca.

Pacemen Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris and Mitchell Starc, who was preferred to spinner Nathan Lyon, set the tone for a dominant day when they shared the 10 Indian wickets between them.

Already 2-0 down in the four-match series after heavy defeats in Melbourne and Sydney, India needed a much better showing to get themselves back into the series and their vaunted batsmen will again rue some poor shots.

“In my mind, I think they’re bowled over already,” a confident Warner added. “Time will tell if we win 4-0 or if we win 3-0. Hopefully we can capitalise on the start we’ve got and get this Test out of the way.”

Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir were all removed at the cost of 73 runs by lunch before Virat Kohli and VVS Laxman launched something of a fightback by putting on 67 for the fifth wicket.

Siddle (3/42) removed them both – Kohli for 44, Laxman for 31 – in a key spell before tea and the last four wickets tumbled for 17 runs in a little more than five overs after the second break.

“The wicket got easier to bat on as the day went by,” said Kohli. “We needed to execute our shots better after that big partnership. These kind of things happen but unfortunately it has happened a lot to us recently.”

Hilfenhaus (4/43) had struck as early as the fourth over of the morning to despatch Sehwag for a duck and later returned to end the stubborn resistance of the other Indian opener, Gambhir, for 31.

Gambhir’s departure was the second of two wickets just before lunch after Harris had trapped Tendulkar lbw for 15 to end the batting maestro’s 22nd attempt to secure his century of centuries.

The morning session was punctuated with loud lbw appeals but Dravid continued his recent trend of being bowled out, this time for nine runs when a Siddle yorker breached his defences.

It was the fourth time in five innings in the series that Dravid had been bowled – the fifth if you count the Siddle dismissal that was ruled out for a no ball in the first Test. India also chose to go with four quicks, handing right-armer Vinay Kumar his debut in place of spinner Ravi Ashwin.

Ashwin’s batting was sorely missed after tea when Vinay Kumar (5) gave Starc his first wicket of the day with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni following him to pavilion soon afterwards, caught in the slips off Hilfenhaus for 12.