Yadav's double-blow jolts Australia

Australia 2 for 68 (Ponting 15*, Cowan 14*, Yadav 2-25) v India

Umesh Yadav struck for India soon after a brief rain break © Getty Images

Umesh Yadav struck twice for India, but an assured debut by Ed Cowan helped Australia avoid terminal batting damage to reach 2 for 68 at lunch on day one of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Though Cowan made only 14 runs in the session, his dogged approach was precisely what the hosts required after batting first in friendly conditions for the seam and swing of Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. Yadav was fast and dangerous, removing David Warner for a watchable, albeit brief, 37, and followed up by nipping out Shaun Marsh.

Ricky Ponting made the most uncertain of starts, struck on the head second ball, but survived in Cowan's company and had played one or two more confident strokes by the time rain brought an early close to the first session.

Opening up after Michael Clarke won a quite ambiguous toss, Cowan and Warner walked to the middle under overcast skies, to a surface that offered the promise of early seam to augment the swing offered by the atmosphere. First strike was taken by the debutant, and Cowan responded by playing out Zaheer's well-directed opening over with plenty of nerves but just as much good sense. His first run arrived in the second over with a tap wide of mid on, before Warner commenced with a streaky inside edge to the fine-leg boundary.

From this inauspicious beginning Warner was quickly into stride, cuffing a handful of boundaries in between sensible pushes and nudges around the ground's vast expanses. Zaheer moved the ball and Ishant bounced it, but Australia's openers negotiated their opening spells with as much confidence as could be expected. The introduction of Yadav prompted Cowan to unfurl one glorious straight drive amid his otherwise abstemious defence, and Warner followed up in the same over by biffing the bowler through cover then hooking uproariously into the crowd.

A brief rain delay broke the rhythm of the stand, and when the players returned Warner perished immediately, attempting to repeat his hook at Yadav and gloving gently behind to MS Dhoni. Yadav had his tail up, firing down his deliveries with plenty of speed, and first ball Marsh was struck on the pad. Having played only one Twenty20 innings since his return to fitness after a painful back complaint, Marsh did not look at ease, and to his seventh ball he walked too late into a drive to avoid slicing it to gully.

Suddenly 0 for 46 had become two for the same score, and Ponting's arrival brought a crowd response that suggested both appreciation and trepidation for Australia's former captain. Second ball Ponting swivelled to hook a short ball, but was struck a stunning blow to the jaw. Ponting was still alert enough to side-foot the rebound away from his stumps, but it was another reminder of how his command over the bouncer has slipped ever since West Indies' Kemar Roach pinned him on the arm in Perth in 2009.

Through it all Cowan maintained his composure, cracking Ishant through the covers to add a second boundary to his tally after taking a blow to the body from Yadav, and Ponting gradually began to find a little more equlibrium. He slipped over while pulling at Zaheer, but the ungainly follow-through was less important than the sight of the ball skimming to the backward square-leg boundary.

Ishant and Zaheer were both ruled fit and were joined in the attack by Yadav and R Ashwin, who won the spinner's spot ahead of Pragyan Ojha. Australia's line-up was confirmed two days ago and there were no late changes, with Ben Hilfenhaus in for Mitchell Starc and Cowan named at the top of the order.

Australia's 427th Test cricketer, Cowan was presented with his baggy green by Dean Jones, before the toss. Clarke's decision to bat was risky given Australia's struggles on Boxing Day last year, when England's swing attack skittled them for 98.

While India's fast men might not offer quite the same threat as James Anderson and Co, they will still be difficult to handle on a pitch described by Cameron Hodgkins, the curator, as similar to last Boxing Day.