PERTH: Yashasvi Jaiswal hit a composed unbe­aten 90 and K.L. Rahul a stylish 62 Saturday as India built an ominous 218-run lead over Australia to take a stranglehold on the opening Test in Perth. A determined and gritty effort by both men against a world-class attack put the visitors in the driving seat as they look to draw first blood in the five-match series. Jaiswal faced 193 balls while Rahul fended off 153 to steer India to 172 without loss at the close on day two. India have won their last two Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia but came into the Perth Stadium clash after a devastating 3-0 home loss to New Zealand. After making a miserly 150 on a lively pitch in their first innings, the pressure was again on. But their response proved admirable. They took a 46-run advantage into the second innings after dismissing the hosts for a meagre 104 at lunch. Dynamic skipper Jasprit Bumrah blitzed 5-30 and Harshit Rana grabbed 3-48. “When Bumrah took wickets I was also desperate to do well,” said Rana, who is making his debut. “He sets the tone for us and I delivered.” Young gun Jaiswal, just 22 and in his 15th Test, failed to score in his first knock and began tentatively before a boundary off Mitchell Starc settled him. Batting alongside the more experienced Rahul, who was playing in the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, they were resolute against the new ball on a pitch more placid than the treacherous one that greeted the players on Friday. Both ran well between the wicket and cracked anything loose to the boundary, playing their shots as their confidence grew. The shot of the day came in the 13th over when Rahul executed a gloriously timed straight drive past bowler Pat Cummins to the boundary. Not to be outdone, Jaiswal punished the Australia captain for bowling too short, floating an upper-cut over the wicket-keeper. The first six came in the final hour, when Jaiswal lifted Mitchell Starc over fine leg. The biggest cheer, however, was reserved for the oft-maligned Rahul, who poked Mitchell Marsh to third man to bring up his 16th Test fifty. While Cummins was left searching for answers, and part-timers Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne were unable to provide any, an ever-expansive Jaiswal launched spinner Nathan Lyon for a maximum over long on to put a cherry on the tourists’ day. Jaiswal brought up his ninth Test half-century off 123 balls, slapping Lyon for a single. He had a let-off on 52 when attempting a drive off Starc, with the ball flying to Usman Khawaja at second slip, but he failed to take a difficult chance. The elegant Rahul also had a scare, surviving a run-out on 42. ‘PROBLEMS TO SOLVE’ “I think the wicket has changed considerably,” said Australia coach Andrew McDonald. “The seam and swing was down compared to yesterday, but K.L. and Jaiswal played extremely well. “We have some problems to solve ahead of us, there’s no doubt,” he added. “We’re clearly well behind the game at this point. “But that’s not to say that tomorrow can’t change very quickly, Test cricket ebbs and flows.” After an astonishing 17 wickets fell on a chaotic opening day, Australia resumed on 67-7 and put on 37 thanks to a dogged last wicket holdout. They reached three figures courtesy of Starc and Josh Hazlewood, with their 25-run stand the longest of the Australian innings. Bumrah was India’s chief destroyer with his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests. Home hopes rested on Alex Carey as he began on 19, but after nudging two from Rana he came up against an irrepressible Bumrah. Coming round the wicket, the Indian captain made Carey play and he nicked to wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant. Lyon (five) did well to hang around for 16 fiery balls before gloving a short one from Rana to Rahul in the slips. That brought Hazlewood to the crease and it seemed only a matter of time before India were batting again. But he and Starc gamely stuck around, bringing up the 100 to huge cheers from the crowd. It was an intelligent innings by Starc, who doggedly faced 112 balls and protected Hazlewood to add crucial extra runs before holing out Rana to Pant on 26. (1st Innings) 150 (N.K. Reddy 41, R. Pant 37; J. Hazlewood 4-29) (1st Innings, overnight 67-7): U. Khawaja c Kohli b Bumrah 8 N. McSweeney lbw b Bumrah 10 M. Labuschagne lbw b Siraj 2 S. Smith lbw b Bumrah 0 T. Head b Rana 11 M. Marsh c Rahul b Siraj 6 A. Carey c Pant b Bumrah 21 P. Cummins c Pant b Bumrah 3 M. Starc c Pant b Rana 26 N. Lyon c Rahul b Rana 5 J. Hazlewood not out 7 EXTRAS (NB-4, LB-1) 5 TOTAL (all out, 51.2 overs) 104 FALL OF WICKETS: 1-14 (McSweeney), 2-19 (Khawaja), 3-19 (Smith), 4-31 (Head), 5-38 (Marsh), 6-47 (Labuschagne), 7-59 (Cummins), 8-70 (Carey), 9-79 (Lyon) BOWLING: Bumrah 18-6-30-5 (2nb), Siraj 13-7-20-2, Rana 15.2-3-48-3 (2nb), Reddy 3-0-4-0, Sundar 2-1-1-0 INDIA (2nd Innings): Y. Jaiswal not out 90 L. Rahul not out 62 EXTRAS (LB-11, NB-4, W-5) 20 TOTAL (no wicket, 57 overs) 172 BOWLING: Starc 12-2-43-0, Hazlewood 10-5-9-0, Cummins 13-2-44-0 (1w, 2nb), Marsh 6-0-27-0 (2nb), Lyon 13-3-28-0, Labuschagne 2-0-2-0, Head 1-0-8-0