His billions of fans got what they had dreamed of and Australia’s bowlers copped what they had dreaded most — Virat Kohli runs in Perth.

The Indian megastar recaptured some of the form that had alluded him for almost three seasons in India’s monstrous score of 6d-487.

And he left a hapless Australia in his wake. The hosts — and series favourites — are waiting on the guillotine and must produce the greatest fourth-innings chase in their Test history to avoid India taking a 1-0 lead in a disastrous start to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Australia still require a practically impossible 522 across the final two days after being sent in to face the music in fading light for half-an-hour in the evening session.

Nathan McSweeney’s debut turned into a nightmare when Bumrah crashed one into his pads with the fourth delivery of the innings.

The South Australian’s duck comes after he made just 10 and was also dismissed by the snappy quick on Friday.

Captain Pat Cummins, who took head on the challenge of serving as nightwatchman, edged behind off Mohammed Siraj for two.

There was mounting pressure on Marnus Labuschagne even before the second innings, but the Australian No.3 failed again.

He reached three before leaving a Bumrah ball that tailed violently back into his pads. Labuschagne scored just five across his two innings and took two of Australia’s limited reviews with him.

Usman Khawaja is on three and will resume on Monday with Steve Smith.

Australia’s greatest-ever successful chase is the 3-404 they made to beat England at Leeds in 1948 — where Arthur Morris and Don Bradman both made centuries — and would well and truly clear that mark if they produced a miracle win in Perth.

They will also have to try and tame Bumrah, now comfortably the best bowler in the world, on a pitch perhaps even more treacherous than when he took four wickets in a famous burst on Friday night.

But of all the issues Cummins’ side face just three days into the Test summer, stirring a sleeping giant might be the biggest.

It was a tailor-made scenario for a legend of the game with a point to prove. After being forced in at 2-14 and failing with the bat two days ago, Kohli had the safety net of a game in the bag to launch a Perth piece de resistance.

The 36-year-old sliced and diced an Australian attack already worn to the ground. Perhaps his best stroke was a straight six off Nathan Lyon, the man who came closest to dismissing him earlier in the session.

He then bullied Marnus Labuschagne’s medium-pacers by clubbing them through mid-wicket and then down the ground to race through the 80s.

Declaration bowling tactics made for a limp end to day three and the home team were booed by their own fans for time-wasting in the evening session, while Labuschagne bowled both seam-up and leg-spin and was pulled up for a rare no-ball for bowling too wide of the crease.

Kohli’s seventh hundred in Australia draws him level with English great Wally Hammond for the second-most by a touring player. Jack Hobbs scored eight.

Australia are being warned Kohli’s innings could be an ominous sign for a series where he had always been tipped to bounce back to top gear.

“Virat Kohli, a lot of talk leading into this series but he has answered the critics today. A brilliant platform set,” former Australian batter Aaron Finch told Channel 7 and 7plus.

Legendary Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar called it an “absolutely magnificent effort from Virat Kohli”.

Bumrah’s decision to declare the moment the milestone was reached is a sign of how desperate India were for their main man to taste success again.

Indian fans were given the rare sight of their prince and king producing royal performances on the same day.

Cricket prince Yashasvi Jaiswal’s stunning century stand finally came to an end in the middle session on 161.

The young gun received a rousing standing ovation and gave his own salute to the crowd as he left the ground after slashing a ball to Steve Smith at backward-point.

His dismissal, just before drinks in the middle session, was Australia’s third of the day. Josh Hazlewood’s wicket of Devdutt Padikkal with the first ball after lunch brought megastar Kohli to the crease.

Australian broke through for the first time in 63 overs when Hazlewood caught the outside-edge of KL Rahul on 77 after he and Jaiswal compiled the greatest-ever opening partnership by an Indian duo in Australia, passing Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth’s 191, made in Sydney in 1986.

Hazlewood said he felt Australia did enough to try and remove Jaiswal and denied they would have attacked the young star differently.

“We cycled through a few plans, he batted really well, he is a good player. He batted well,” he said.

“We sort of hung it out with an off-side field, we tried straight, we tried the bouncers, we tried other things, he negated everything.”

And he defended bowling part-timers as India’s run-rate soared.

“I think we bowled really well for the majority of the innings, obviously at the end there things flow and the quicks are probably done for the day and you know you are bowling your part-timers and things it really motors along,” Hazlewood said.

“But we had periods there where we kept the scoreboard very tight and a lot of plays-and-misses throughout the day.”

Dhruv Jurel was dismissed by Cummins with the first ball after the drinks break for one. He reviewed an lbw shout that was only just kissing leg-stump on ball-tracking.

Mitch Marsh shrugged off any concern over an ankle injury and bowled for the first time on the third day, claiming the prized wicket of Jaiswal — his third of the game.

Australia will hope Smith, who was out for a golden duck on his return to No.4 in the first innings, can replicate Kohli’s return to form and anchor some sort of fight-back in the middle-order.

Australia’s engine room of Khawaja, Labuschagne and Smith will likely face heavy scrutiny ahead of the second Test in Adelaide unless they can escape what looms as a disaster.