They didn't have an answer for Johnson - Smith

Forty-five men have captained Australia in Tests. Nine have scored centuries in their first match in charge. Five have done it in the first innings. Steven Smith's 133 put him in elite company, for prior to him only Monty Noble, Clem Hill, Lindsay Hassett and Greg Chappell had reached triple figures in their first innings as Test captain. It is some sort of statement.

"I said in the press conference before the Test that I wanted to lead from the front with my performances," Smith said after the third day's play. "Hopefully I've done that so far this game and hopefully it continues for me as well."

Smith and Mitchell Johnson delivered Australia from a precarious 6 for 247 to a much healthier 7 for 395 and further runs from Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood pushed Australia to 505. Their 97-run first-innings lead seemed preposterous given the situation when Smith and Johnson came together, but Smith said India had no way to curb the aggression of Johnson in his innings of 88.

"He came out and was positive from ball one," Smith said. "That was his mindset. They tried to be quite aggressive with him, bowling short, and trying to get stuck into him. I think that played into his favour. He took them on and they didn't really have an answer for him, to be honest. It was great the way he came out and just took them on from ball one.

"We said this morning that we wanted a few big partnerships and we managed to do that. That's all you need to do on this kind of wicket. If you get yourself in it's one of the best places to bat in the world. Credit to our tail the way they played and came out and took the bowlers on was fantastic. I'm really happy with all the boys' performance."

Smith and Johnson had come together after the loss of Brad Haddin, who collected an equal Australian Test record six dismissals in the first innings but is in a rut with the bat. Since his outstanding performance in last year's Ashes clean sweep, Haddin has batted 12 times in Tests for scores of 0, 9, 1, 13, 3*, 22, 0, 10, 13, 0, 14* and 6.

"I think his spot is completely safe," Smith said of his vice-captain Haddin. "He's a quality performer and he's gloving the ball unbelievably at the moment. I'm sure the runs that he's after are just around the corner."

Haddin's batting form is one of several concerns for the Australians, who on the first day lost three bowlers to injuries in the challenging Brisbane heat. Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc were able to return to bowl again but Mitchell Marsh's hamstring injury will prevent him bowling again in the game, and Smith said the first day had been a serious challenge.

"That first day wasn't quite what I expected," Smith said. "It was one of the toughest days I've faced in captaining any team, to be honest. But I've really enjoyed the last couple of days. The boys have supported me really well. We just need to come out in the morning and take a few early wickets to make sure we stay in the game."

Australia might have had more chance of some wickets late on day three had they got through a few more overs - not for the first time in the match the over rate was very slow, not helped by the extra drinks breaks allowed in the heat. Most ridiculous was the fact that four minutes before stumps, drinks were ferried onto the field for players from both teams, perhaps costing an extra over.

"Hopefully we can get our over rate back a little bit," Smith said. "There's obviously been a few distractions with people walking behind the sight screen and drinks and the weather is quite hot and humid, so it's quite tough. Hopefully they find a way to give me a few minutes back there."

Smith fielded without apparent discomfort during India's second innings after having his left thigh strapped by the physio late in his innings of 133. Smith said the injury was from being hit by a ball and was not serious.