Steve Smith crossed double-figures for the first time in the series and played a counter-attacking game, as he remained not out on 31 at the end of the day.
Australia ended the rain-hit first day in Sydney on 166/2 in 55 overs, with debutant Will Pucovski and Marnus Labuschagne impressing with quality outings. While Pucovski exploited the sunny conditions and conducive batting pitch to score 62, Labsuchagne remained unbeaten on 67.
Steve Smith, who had been going through a lean patch since the beginning of the Test series, finally crossed double-figures and played a counter-attacking game, as he remained not out on 31 at the end of the day.
Smith played spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja particularly well, and attacked the fast bowlers.
In a post-match interaction, Smith revealed that he wanted to put Ashwin under pressure and was satisfied with his performance so far.
I'm good, nice to spend a bit of time out there, nice to stitch in a partnership with Marnus. I wanted to put him (Ashwin) under a little bit of pressure which I haven't done this series," said Smith.
"Was just trying to hold the grip a bit tighter, I've been struggling, so I was getting into good positions today. Was good to get a couple of boundaries early. Marnus played well, hopefully we go along well tomorrow."
Earlier, Australia had won the toss and opted to bat in Sydney. David Warner, who is making a comeback for the Australian side, failed to impress as he was dismissed on 5.
Navdeep Saini, who is making his Test debut, dismissed fellow debutant Pucovksi for Australia's second wicket.
The Day 1 of the Test was largely marred by rains in Sydney, as nearly four hours of play was lost due to consistent drizzling.
The four-match series is currently level at 1-1.
