'We feel confident when Kohli is at the crease' – Ishant

Replying to Australia's 326 in the first innings, a 74-run partnership between Pujara (24) and Kohli (82*) rescued India from 8/2 and then an unbeaten 90-run stand between the Indian captain and Rahane (51*) took them to a position of strength at 172/3 at stumps on day two.

Kohli's knock was the highlight of the day as not only did he look out for scoring opportunities right from the moment he arrived at the crease, he also ensured that India made the most of the final session as tired Australian bowlers returned for their third and fourth spells and were taken for runs.

Sharma, who finished off the Australian innings with wickets off successive balls and returned his best Test figures against Australia of 4/41, was happy with the team's performance, especially Kohli's. "We feel pretty confident when he's batting at the crease," Sharma said of Kohli.

"We felt good and finished the day in a strong position. They (Kohli and Rahane) both will continue [tomorrow]. Right now, I can say that the game is equally [poised]. Tomorrow, hopefully we'll win the first session and then turn the game in our favour."

India were 70/2 at tea with Pujara and Kohli standing ground but Mitchell Starc brought Australia back in the game by dismissing Pujara shortly after the break. It was then that Rahane arrived at the crease and flayed Australia's plans of bowling short at the Indians with his aggressive approach.

He took on the short-pitched stuff from Cummins and Starc and hit each of them for boundaries. Kohli followed his lead and adopted equally aggressive methods as the duo took India past 100 and 150 in the final session.

"The quick 20-30 runs Ajinkya got us was crucial," Sharma explained. "If we had been defensive at that stage, we would have allowed them to stick to their plans.

"The counter-attack was very good for Jinx and the team. Consequently, they had to change their plans and switch to something else."

Much was made before the game about the greenish look that the pitch at the Perth Stadium bore but the wicket played different colours on different days and the way Kohli and Rahane thwarted a strong pace attack led to beliefs that the pitch wasn't conducive to pace bowling.

But Sharma denied any such speculations. "When we were batting, it didn't happen much," he said of the surface. " [But] when we were bowling, yes, [we realised] if you hit the length, then there was something in the wicket.

"You can't say there is nothing in the wicket. Even yesterday, as a bowling group we spoke about [how] we gave away a few runs. I think [on] these kind of pitches, if you're consistent enough, then you have a good chance [to pick wickets]."

Amidst the Kohli-Rahane show in the final session, Pujara's gritty 103-ball knock was left somewhat forgotten even as the India No.3 absorbed the pressure put on by Australia after they had reduced India to 8/2 and looked to run through the line-up.

Sharma lauded his teammate for tiring the bowlers out. "When Pujara defends, the ball doesn't go past the square," he laughed. "He is someone you need in your team because I have played against him and I know how difficult it is to bowl to Pujara.

"When he plays, he makes the bowlers really tired because he takes the toll from the bowlers. When they were batting, we knew that if he stays at the wicket, he can do wonders for the team."

And while India are well-placed at the end of the second day, they still trail Australia by 154 runs and a few early wickets early on the third day could mean that India's long tail, which has little batting expertise could be exposed soon, especially in the absence of a bowling all-rounder like Ravichandran Ashwin.

Sharma realised the need for the tail to fire but maintained that the lower-order batsman of the home side always hold some advantage. "Yes, abroad, we are not scoring as much as the other teams are doing," Sharma admitted.

"As you can see, every home team is scoring runs. Even if Australians come to India, they [tailenders] won't score that much. So it's all about the home team and we are not used to that kind of bounce and pace.

"Yes, we are working on our batting skills as well. Slowly, maybe not today, but tomorrow, some day our bowlers may score a 50."