Batting under lights on a lively track, Australia then suffered a collapse of their own and finished day two on 99-6 for an overall lead of 181 as they look to complete a series sweep.
Regular captain Pat Cummins was named in the Australia squad on Wednesday for the third Ashes Test against England, a strong indication that the inspirational fast bowler will see his first action of the series in Adelaide next week.
Steve Smith returns to action in the Boxing Day Test against England as Australia opted to include four fast bowlers in their 12-man squad.
Australia captain Pat Cummins is back bowling multiple overs on a reduced run-up and has targeted returning to the team for the second Ashes Test against England, a day-nighter in Brisbane starting on December 4.
A calf injury forced Josh Hazlewood to miss being part of Australia's World Test Championship win two years ago and the fast bowler is keen to avoid a second such heartbreak.
Joe Root's Australian hoodoo is over. The England batter scored his first Test century in Australia, an unbeaten 135 off 202 balls, rescuing his side after a shaky start in the second Ashes Test at Brisbane's Gabba and steering England to 325 for nine following captain Ben Stokes' decision to bat first.
'They're those little moments as a squad that I think have got us across the line to four wins this series.'
Australia trail 1-0 in the five-Test series against India after being thrashed in the Perth opener by 295 runs.
'It's a double-edged sword, but I'm enjoying it.'
Hazlewood's inclusion is the only change to the home side who will look to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test series.
Australia pacer Michael Neser found day one of his maiden Boxing Day Test a dream come true.
With skipper Pat Cummins already out of the series opener because of a back injury, Australia are expected to send out Hazlewood with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as their pace attack.
Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri firmly believes Australia should select experienced pacer Josh Hazlewood ahead of Scott Boland for the WTC Final against South Africa in June.
Travis Head proved England's nemesis once again as he scored his second century of the Ashes to carry Australia toward a seemingly inevitable series triumph on day three at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Spinner Todd Murphy has been called into the Australia squad in place of the injured Nathan Lyon for this week's fourth Ashes Test, while captain Pat Cummins will skip the rest of the series as his back issue is managed.
A wicket-laden Boxing Day Test at the MCG triggered widespread debate, with former cricketers from both Australia and England questioning whether the pitch offered far too much for the bowlers.
Mitchell Starc is likely to link up with skipper Pat Cummins in Australia's pace attack for the second Test against India.
England batter Joe Root defended fellow teammate Jamie Smith for his dismissal in the first innings of the final Sydney Test
The hosts then raced to 199-6 in 31 overs, effectively batting West Indies out of the contest, before declaring their second innings.
Scott Boland will become the first indigenous Australian Test player since Jason Gillespie played his last match in 2006 when he receives his baggy green cap on Sunday.
Joe Root has reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Men's Test Batting Rankings after his stellar efforts helped England secure a 22-run victory over India at Lord's, according to the official website of the ICC.
Starc further commented that Doggett could handle the pressure of the Ashes series, as he seemed to be the third pacer in Australia's attack.
Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood has brushed off worries about Australia's ageing attack for the Ashes, saying he personally feels as good as he has in a long time and that the unit's experience of bowling together is a major advantage for the team.
Not Cummins, not Starc, this bowler was the difference in the end for Australia, reckons Ravichandran Ashwin
'I am still in the low 140s, so I am not concerned'
The hosts lost six wickets in the first session for 94 runs after resuming on four for no loss on Day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne.
'I think the Indigenous community in AFL and rugby are so big and hopefully one day Aboriginals in cricket can be just as big.'
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India at the MCG on Sunday.
Joe Root contributed a magnificent 160 to England's first-innings tally of 384 but Travis Head drove Australia to 166 for two in response on the second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test.
Steve Smith cut a relaxed figure when he named the Australia team for the opening clash in his ninth and possibly final Ashes series on Thursday.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne will be pushed up in the order to open alongside Usman Khawaja.
Nitish Reddy's straight drive off Scott Boland that carried him past his maiden Test hundred has convinced the Australian pacer about the young Indian batter's potential with the bat.
Australia stormed to an eight-wicket victory in the second Ashes Test on Sunday to take a 2-0 series lead as England succumbed on day four to a pace blitz from unlikely hero Michael Neser.
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has set himself a tentative 4-6 week time to recover from a lumbar bone stress injury.
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Ashes Test played between Australia and England at the MCG on Tuesday.
Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, the 32-year-old Victoria paceman finished with outrageous innings figures of 6-7 in four overs, sending his home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into delirium.
Cummins, who was previously optimistic of taking part in a significant chunk of the series, appears to have no chance of playing the series opener in Perth from November 21 and could even miss all five Tests, leaving superstar batter Steve Smith as his stand-in captain.
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