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Bangalore - Lokesh Rahul and Abhinav Mukund reached 38-0 at lunch on the third day of the second Test Monday after Ravindra Jadeja took six wickets as Australia were dismissed for 276.
Left-arm spinner Jadeja took three of the four wickets to fall in the first hour in his 6-63 which kept Australia's first innings lead down to 87, which the openers reduced to 49 by lunch in Bangalore.
Both Rahul and Mukund signalled their positive intent from the start by hitting four boundaries against a persistent Australian bowling attack on a cloudy morning.
The tourists, who started the day on 237 for 6, were bolstered by overnight batsman Matthew Wade's gritty 40 and looked to be capable of extending their lead past 100 before the Indian spinners struck back.
Wade and Mitchell Starc, who made 26, had added 49 runs for the seventh wicket when off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin induced Starc to mistime a slog-sweep to deep midwicket where Jadeja took a well-judged catch.
Wade soon followed his overnight partner back to the pavilion after being trapped leg before by Jadeja, who then removed Nathan Lyon lbw next ball for a duck.
Last man Josh Hazlewood denied Jadeja the hat-trick but he fell soon after for one on a pitch that is offering variable bounce.
Fighting innnings from Matt Renshaw, who made 60, and Shaun Marsh, who scored 66, on Sunday helped the visitors pass India's first innings score of 189.to
Steve Smith's Australia lead the four-match series 1-0.
