An actor tethered to a homemade parachute made out of bras flies his way to the top of a quirky Australian competition, beating other contestants dressed as a balloon horse and winged reptile.

Pat Cummins is in sight of a long-awaited second Test after being rushed into the Australia squad to replace injured pace spearhead Mitchell Starc for the remainder of the series in India.

Trevor Hohns was named as the chairman of Australia's cricket selectors on Friday after steadying the ship as caretaker chief following a string of defeats last year.

India have withdrawn an official protest about the actions of Australia captain Steve Smith in the second Test as the governing bodies of both countries moved to bring an end to the acrimony surrounding the ongoing four-match series.

Australia were set a target of 188 runs for victory in the second Test and a 2-0 series lead on Tuesday after Josh Hazlewood picked up career-best figures of 6-67 to rip through India's batting on the fourth morning of the match.

Former Test wicketkeeper Ian Healy says he's "losing respect" for India captain Virat Kohli, and believes his confrontational attitude is heaping pressure on his teammates.

Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood took three wickets, including the prized scalp of skipper Virat Kohli, to damage India's fightback on the third day of a closely-fought second Test Monday.

India are confident they can end a string of batting collapses in their second innings and set Australia a competitive target to chase in the second Test, batsman Cheteshwar Pujara said on Sunday.

Tensions flared in a gripping opening hour of day two of the second Test, with rival skippers Steve Smith and Virat Kohli sharing a heated chat for several overs.

Fighting half-centuries from Shaun Marsh and Matt Renshaw helped Australia secure a crucial first-innings lead over world number one India in the second Test in Bangalore on Sunday.

Former Australia Test batsman and current national selector Mark Waugh has labelled Virat Kohli's dismissal on day one in Bengaluru as a “brain fade”.

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon claimed a career-best haul of eight wickets to help Australia bowl out India for a paltry 189 and take opening day honours in the second Test in Bangalore on Saturday.

Batsman Murali Vijay on Wednesday rejected the idea that the Pune pitch was to blame for India's drubbing in the first Test against Australia despite it being classified as "poor" by the match referee.

Mitchell Starc may have won the opening duel against Indian skipper Virat Kohli by getting the star batsman out for a duck in the first Test, but the Australian fast bowler insists the battle has just begun.

Barring a last-minute intervention from the home side, the second Test between India and Australia will be played on a "sporting" pitch which will be fair to both teams, organisers in Bengaluru have said.

Members of the Indian cricket team, led by skipper Virat Kohli, go on a nature hike to soothe the pain of their heavy defeat to Australia in the first Test.

Australia's superstar skipper Steve Smith had joined another exclusive group of batsmen following his brilliant hundred in the first Test against India in Pune.

Australia hailed the extraordinary victory by their cricketers in the first Test against India in Pune on Sunday, the plaudits just about drowning out the expressions of stunned surprise at a triumph almost no one expected.

For the first time in 933 days, India captain Virat Kohli has been dismissed in Test cricket without scoring.

Australia's left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe dispatched six Indian batsmen in just 24 balls after lunch as the hosts collapsed to 105 all out in the opening Test in Pune on Friday.