Perth/IBNS: Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc led Australia to a dominant start to the Border Gavaskar Trophy against India, forcing the visitors to crawl in the first session of the inaugural Test in Perth on Friday.

At lunch, India moved quietly to 51 losing four wickets including the one of iconic batter Virat Kohli, whose walking up to the crease was greeted with a loud cheer from fans.

KL Rahul, who played conservative cricket, was dismissed for 26 off 74 balls.

The fans' celebrations for Kohli were short-lived as the veteran was dismissed for just five. 

The youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Devdutt Padikkal were sent back by the Aussies to the change room for ducks.

Rishabh Pant (10 off 24 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (four off 10 balls) were at the crease when the umpires called the lunch.

Hazlewood and Starc picked two wickets each with both conceding 10 runs in eight overs.

India's stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah, who is leading the injury-ridden side in absence of Rohit Sharma, won the toss and handed over the red ball to the hosts, who ended the maiden session with a smile.