Come-back man Ravindra Jadeja (4/45) struck four times as India reduced Australia to 174 for eight at tea on day one of the opening Test here on Thursday.
The left-arm spinner, who returned from a knee injury, was the wrecker-in-chief during the second session as he broke the partnership between Steve Smith (37) and Marnus Labuschagne (49) before trapping Matt Renshaw and Todd Murphy.
Alex Carrey scored a 33-ball 36 before veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (2/41), who was the other wicket-taker for India in the second session, ended his stay in the middle.
Earlier, pacers Mohammed Shami (1/12) and Mohammed Siraj (1/13) dealt early blows to the visitors, removing openers Usman Khwaja (1) and David Warner (1) within the first three overs.
Smith and Labuschagne stitched a 82-run partnership for the third wicket.