Australia has all but lost the first Test against India after slumping to 3-12 inside five overs before stumps on day three, after centuries to Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal led India to set the hosts a formidable target of 534 to win.
Kohli's century, his seventh on Australian soil, came after opener Jaiswal put India in the driver's seat with a brilliant 161.
Kohli, meanwhile, was down on form coming into the series but, striding to the crease with his team on top at 2-275, went about building an insurmountable lead.
He accelerated late in the innings as stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah hovered in the dugout, ready to declare, but ultimately allowing Kohli to power to his first Test ton since July last year and just his third since 2019.
Australia will have to smash the current record for a successful fourth-innings chase by more than 100 runs if it is to avoid going down 0-1 in the five-Test series, and do it without debutant opener Nathan McSweeney (0), captain Pat Cummins (2) and Marnus Labuschagne (3) after all three fell in 26 deliveries before stumps.
The highest successful run chase in a Test match is 418, by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2003.
Eclipsing that seems increasingly unlikely though, on a pitch already displaying cracking and variable bounce with only seven wickets remaining and batting out two full days for a draw looking just as difficult.
Look back at day three of the first Test in our live blog below and check out the full ScoreCentre.
Australia on the brink
I reckon there will be a few thousand-mile stares in the Aussie dressing room tonight and at dinner.
Everything has dramatically fallen apart, torn asunder by the brilliant Indians in Perth.
There are, however, still seven wickets that need taking, and Australia will not accept this team simply laying down, meekly succumbing in what is the first of five Tests.
We will be back tomorrow for the likely conclusion of this Test match.
We hope you'll join us then.
Indeed
Yep. I was too optimistic
- Steph in Melbourne
This is optimistic, Mike, I fear
Reminds me of the old quote " Started badly then fell away..." Thanks for the blog Simon and Jon - see you tomorrow for a spectacular Aussie comeback...
- Mike
But we can live in hope.
Tomorrow, as they say, is a new day.
Them's the rules
Stumps halfway through an over? How is that call made? Surely India would want to have a look at Smith.
- HJ
If a wicket falls in the final over of the day, you call it there and then.
I bet India would have loved another 10 overs.
But them's the rules.
Stumps: Australia 3-12 (Khawaja 3), trail by 521
Oh wow.
Oh. Wow.
Super Sunday for India, who are so firmly in control of this match that you could almost forgive Australia for conceding and running across the Nullarbor with their tails firmly between their legs for the relative safe haven of Adelaide and the pink ball Test.
But will even those familiar and favourable conditions safe this Australian team from complete an utter capitulation?
After the hiding that India is in the process of inflicting there, I have my doubts.
A stunning day for India.
A complete shocker for the Aussies.
LBW! MARNUS IS OUT NOW!
Oh no!
Marnus didn't play a shot at that! He just left it and the ball angled straight into him!
It looked as dead as you like. Dodo's have shown more life than that.
Marnus has reviewed because he and Australia needs a miracle.
But they are not going to get it.
Marnus is out for 3!
5th over - Bumrah has another
This could be the last of the day.
"NO RUN!" Marnus screams after defending the first.
4th over - Siraj has five balls to come
Solid defence from Marnus first up.
Siraj is enjoying this, I think. Chatting to Marnus at the end of his follow through.
Marnus leaves outside off and Siraj comes back with some more chat - it's two-way conversation out there though - don't worry about that.
Good shot! Marnus punches to long off, a lovely stroke and they will run three.
Around the wicket now, to Khawaja, who blocks sensibly.
No chat from Siraj to Khawaja, notably.
Siraj starts running in and then aborts. Australia won't mind that.
Solid defence from Khawaja, a stoic figure in a maelstrom of sound of chaos in the middle.
EDGED! CUMMINS IS OUT TOO!
Cummins pushes at the ball outside off stump - reaching for the ball with no footwork, gets a thick edge to Virat Kohli and he has to go for 2!
He punches at his bat - it was too tall an ask for genuine batters, let alone a man who has toiled for two days with the ball in hand.
The night watchman experiment doesn't work and Marnus Labuschagne has been dragged kicking and screaming from wherever he was hiding to front up for the nine minutes remaining.
4th over - Siraj continues
3rd over - Bumrah continues
There's 14 minutes to go.
BEATEN! That's so close to collecting his stumps, a ball that nipped back and just went over the top. Well-judged leave.
INSIDE EDGE! That flies to bat pad on the bounce off the inside edge as Cummins gets forward.
Cummins drives down past Bumrah and they take a single. Nice stroke.
Bumrah, unlike Australia's bowlers, is targeting the stumps with almost every ball, waiting for the pitch to do its work.
Bat pad, three slips and a gully and Khawaja defends.
FOUR! Down the leg side, Bumrah missing his line and the ball flies to the boundary past the diving Rishabh Pant.
Khawaja defends solidly to end the over.
100 may be optimistic
Do you think we’ll get rolled for 100 in our second innings too? Those low balls look bad for us
- Steph in Melbourne
2nd over - Siraj comes into the attack
Outside off, angling in to Usman Khawaja from around the wicket and Khawaja leaves it.
Khawaja clips off this pads and will get at least a couple - no they make it three. Well done Captain Pat for taking responsibility.
BEATEN! What a ball! Wasted on Pat Cummins! That angled in, swung and seamed away and missed the edge and off stump by barely any space at all.
Cummins pushes for a single into the covers next ball.
Khawaja, takes his time to set himself, and defends solidly into the off side.
1st over - In comes Pat Cummins!
Pat Cummins is night watchman.
I think he won't be playing as a Stuart Broad-style nighthawk...
On the pads, but going down leg.
EDGED! That one stayed low too! Hitting the toe of Cummins' bat.
Oh wow this is going to be tortuous for Australian supporters.
LBW! AUSTRALIA IS ONE DOWN IN THE FIRST OVER!
That kept horribly low!
McSweeney lasted three balls.
It was the first ball that was close to being threatening and it struck home.
No use reviewing that.
It was hitting middle half way up.
1st over - Jasprit Bumrah to open the bowling
Nathan McSweeney is on strike, and he watches the ball swing away wide of off stump.
Outside off again, much closer this time, and McSweeney leaves again.
Three slips, a gully, point, all waiting for a sniff of a chance.
LOW! That one stayed very, very low. It was outside off though.
Out come Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney
Oh my word what a challenge for this pair.
Australia will be desperately hoping it's just this pair that has to face India's bowling over the next 25 minutes or so.
I have a sneaky suspicion that it wont be...
This is a good summation
Hmm.. India might be just a smidgin in front for this Test right now..
- StevoR
It isn't going to get any more fun for that team in the next half hour either...
There were two teams out there today, only one of them were having fun...
- Mike