Australia's seamers combined to bundle India out for 150 on Friday but the hosts fared even worse with the bat on day one of the first test in Perth, slumping to 67-7 at stumps courtesy of a scintillating four-wicket haul by Jasprit Bumrah.
The home team reached the close trailing by 83 runs as India's pacemen also feasted on a 17-wicket day.
It was stand-in captain Bumrah who rose to the occasion, leading his team back from the brink by exploiting the seam-friendly conditions to register 4-17 in the final session and leaving Australia rattled.
"The wicket is helping a lot," debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy said. "We don't need to do much to get the wickets. Keep disciplined and eventually wickets came our way."
Bumrah earlier won the toss and boldly elected to bat.
In an inexperienced lineup missing skipper Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, it was left to Rishabh Pant (37) and Reddy (41) to breathe life into India's first innings after a slew of early wickets.
The morning started ominously when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal departed for ducks and Josh Hazlewood (4-29) had Virat Kohli, in the midst of a century-drought lasting 16 months, caught in the slips for five.
Things went from bad to worse when an irritated KL Rahul (26) trudged off after the third umpire judged that he edged Mitchell Starc (2-14) to keeper Alex Carey as bat brushed pad.
A scarcely believable six over fine leg by Pant, scooped from a Pat Cummins delivery outside off-stump, highlighted the Pant-Reddy resistance of 48 runs.
Australia's impressive fielding display culminated when Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne combined for a rare team-catch, bobbled from one to the other in the slips to leave Harshit Rana (seven) stunned, and the bowler Hazlewood jubilant.
Tea was taken when Cummins (2-67) had Reddy caught by Usman Khawaja, wrapping up the innings.
In the third session, Australia's newly-capped opener McSweeney got off the mark with a deft glance to the fine leg boundary but he departed for 10 when Bumrah had him pinned leg-before.
The 30-year-old rounded out a spectacular opening spell by inducing an edge from Khawaja (eight) and then trapping Steve Smith in front for a golden duck on the next ball.
Travis Head added 11 before becoming Rana's first test wicket, beaten for pace, and Australia were reeling at 47-6 when Labuschagne was given out lbw to give Mohammed Siraj his second scalp.
Bumrah brought himself back on prior to the close, and celebrated his fourth wicket when keeper Pant gobbled up a thick Cummins edge.
Carey (19) and Starc (six) remain not out overnight and will be key to steering Australia past their lowest score of 83 against India.
"If you can get through the testing period, it does get easier," Starc said.
