Jasprit Bumrah’s five-wicket haul spared India from the blushes as Australia rode another rollicking Travis Head century and a redemption hundred for the great Steve Smith to pile up 405-7 at stumps on the second day of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Brisbane on Sunday.

Bringing back memories of the 2023 ICC World Test Championship final, Head (152) and Smith (101), tormented India again with a stunning 241-run stand to turn the tide in Australia’s favour after the Indian bowlers got rid of the top three early in the first session. The duo began their union at 3-75 in the 33rd over and dominated the proceedings for the entire post-lunch period before being separated in the final session, in which India managed to crawl back into the game with four wickets.

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After a rain-hit opening day, the Indian pacers took full advantage of the moisture on the Gabba wicket in Sunday’s morning session and had Australia on a tight leash. Bumrah led his forces from the front, packing Queensland skipper Usman Khawaja for 21 after the southpaw got a feather of an outside edge flying through to Rishabh Pant.

The Indian ace then got the rookie opener Nathan McSweeney for a fourth time in five innings this series, with an edge to Virat Kohli at second slip. Marnus Labuschagne and Smith did well to negotiate the probing lines from Bumrah, Akash Deep, and Mohammed Siraj, but just before the second drinks break of an extended first session, Labuschagne was undone as he chased a full and wide delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy and nicked through to Kohli, who took a sharp catch. Desperately hoping to get rid of the slump, Smith needed some luck going his way, and on Sunday, he was fortunate to survive a few close lbw calls from Siraj and Deep.

On the other hand, fresh from a hundred in Adelaide, Head survived his first ball after three consecutive golden ducks in his past three Test innings at the Gabba and instead announced his arrival with two fours through cover one off the back foot, one off the front from the first 14 balls he faced, and by the time lunch arrived, he too had moved into the 20s alongside Smith, and Australia were 3-104.

After the break, Head continued his onslaught, welcoming Ravindra Jadeja to the crease for the first time by whipping a long hop down through fine leg for four. Smith also looked convincing with a straight drive back past Deep for four, though two balls later the bowler was convinced he had Smith lbw.

The umpire however was not, and it was the latter who proved correct when ball-tracking technology showed the ball to be high and wide of leg stump. The duo continued exploiting the lack of depth in the Indian attack, bringing up their century stand, and by that point, the morning momentum that had belonged to India had swung well and truly Australia’s way, which Head underlined a couple of overs later by bringing up his second successive century. Head’s aggression was infectious as Smith also became more expansive as the afternoon wore on, with the pair moving their century stand to 150, and the right-hander soon played a delightful straight drive to move to 99 once the new ball was taken.

One ball later, the 35-year-old finally broke his century drought, with a tickle to fine leg to bring up his 33rd Test hundred. Smith, however, soon perished edging Bumrah to Rohit at first slip to end a magnificent innings and a potentially match-defining stand of 241 from 50.4 overs.

At 316-4, Mitchell Marsh had the perfect platform to use the long handle but Bumrah remained unplayable with the second new ball. He dismissed Marsh (5), who edged through to give Kohli a third catch, and then finally accounted for Head, whose 152 matched his Ashes classic from three summers ago.

Despite Bumrah’s strikes, wicketkeeper Alex Carey meant business and teamed up with his skipper Pat Cummins (20) for a 58-run stand in just 11 overs. Cummins, however, fell to Siraj’s but Carey carried on with Mitchell Starc in tow to take Australia past 400 in the closing minutes of a remarkably dominant day for the hosts. Brief Scores: Australia 405 for 7 (Head 152, Smith 101, Carey 45 not out, Bumrah 5-72) vs India.