India hit rock bottom

In a spectacular display of seam bowling, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins bowled India out for their lowest score in history, to set up a stunning comeback victory for Australia on day three of the first Test in Adelaide.

Josh Hazlewood (5-8) and Pat Cummins (4-21) turned a tight Test on its head in a devastating spell of pace bowling to open the third day of the day-night Test, ripping through the much-vaunted Indian batting line-up in less than two hours for 36; India's lowest innings score in 88 years of test cricket

"We were expecting a real dogfight right to the end, late day four, maybe day five in this Test. Again, it shows the talent we have with the ball and when our boys execute and there's anything in the wicket, that's what can happen," said Australia skipper Tim Paine, who was named the man-of-the-match for his fighting 73.

"I had said in the media that both these attacks have the ability to take quick wickets. Didn't expect it to come that quick. When you're as tall as our boys and as quick as our boys, it can become very difficult so credit to our bowlers again. Absolutely rapped with the way we bowled, but our batting was below what we expected," he added.

The Indian press and ex-players savaged the national cricket team after lowest-ever score in a "humiliating" and "jaw-dropping" Test defeat in Australia. In cricket-crazy India, The Times of India dubbed the performance and the defeat -- the hosts cruised to an eight-wicket victory on just the third day -- the "massacre in Adelaide".

The Indian Express wondered if the "summer of 36" is "Indian cricket's lowest point", adding tongue-in-cheek that the players had at least "buried the ghost" of 1974.

Forty-six years ago when India were thrashed by England at Lord's, that innings at least saw one player -- Eknath Solkar making 18 not out -- reach double figures, the paper recalled.

Former India great Sachin Tendulkar meanwhile was gracious about the defeat, congratulating the Australians. "With the way India batted & bowled in the 1st innings, they were in the driver's seat, but the Aussies came back really hard this morning," he tweeted. "That is the beauty of Test cricket. It's NEVER over till it's over. India was outclassed in the 2nd half. Congratulations to Australia!"

India captain Virat Kohli questioned his team's batting mindset in the second innings.

"They bowled similar areas in the first innings as well, but probably our mindset and intent was to get runs, even if it's ones and twos," Kohli said. "To be honest, there were some good balls, but I don't think the ball did something drastic in the morning. It was just the mindset that put us into positions where the ball took edges and it was pretty evident in the way we went about things, just losing one (wicket) after the other."

Another Indian great Sunil Gavaskar knows what it feels like to be saddled with a dubious distinction and the batting great offered comforting words to India's team.

Gavaskar, who was part of that 1974 team, did not find any fault with Kohli and his men and simply attributed the collapse to a fiery rival attack, just like 46 years ago.

"Taking nothing away from the Australian bowling, they were absolutely superb today, there was nothing wrong with the Indian effort today. In the same way as in 1974, overcast conditions at Lord's with the ball swinging around, none of us got out playing bad shots, we were all trapped lbw or caught behind," recalled the former opener.

"When you face bowling of that quality, with that line and length, it's very difficult to score runs and that's what happened to the Indians today."