Few would have predicted the events that unfolded in the opener, however, with top-ranked India riding a 19-test unbeaten run against a rebuilding Australian side regarded as massive underdogs by captain Steve Smith.
The odds were heavily stacked against a side that had lost their previous nine tests in Asia and suffered a 4-0 whitewash when they last toured India in 2013, but Smith and his men were in the mood to cause an upset.
"Everyone wrote us off and expected India to win 4-0," a smiling Smith told reporters after Australia had eased to a stunning 333-run victory within three days on Saturday. "That can't happen anymore."
Pune was hosting a test for a first time and the bone dry pitch appeared tailor-made for India's vaunted spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to enhance their reputation as the top two bowlers in the test rankings.
Instead, it was Australian left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe who shone the brightest of the slow bowlers, scything through India twice with identical figures of 6-35 to help dismiss the shell-shocked hosts for 105 and 107 in their two innings.
O'Keefe alone matched Ashwin and Jadeja's combined haul over both innings as he and off-spinner Nathan Lyon took all 10 Indian wickets to fall on Saturday.
