On a fast and bouncy pitch tailor-made for fast bowling - so much so that India didn't even bother picking a specialist spinner - Nathan Lyon proved the difference for Australia in Perth.
Skipper Tim Paine declared man of the match Lyon had taken his game to another level after Australia prevailed by 146 runs to level the four-Test series 1-1.
Lyon's match figures of 8-106 included a five-wicket haul in the first innings - his seventh against India in Tests, equal only to Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan.
The offspinner also maintained his formidable record against Virat Kohli, dismissing the Indian superstar for a record seventh time.
"It does seem like he is getting better," Paine said.
"I feel like at any stage you can throw him the ball. It doesn't matter at what end, or who is on strike, what time of day it is ... he loves it, and he loves getting in the contest, even with the bat at the moment.
"I think his game keeps going to another level. I can feel guys growing in confidence around Nathan and that's what you want from your senior players."
India could live to regret replacing injured offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin in Perth with a fourth quick in Umesh Yadav, who finished with match figures of 2-139.
Kohli played down the impact of excluding spinning allrounder Ravindra Jadeja but Australian coach Justin Langer said it had been a game-changer.
"Nathan Lyon was probably the difference," Langer said on Fox Cricket.
"He was not only man of the match ... (we picked) a spinner and India didn't, and we saw what a great influence it had on the game.
"It spun and it bounced, it was fast, it swung a bit. Anyone that says there's anything wrong with that wicket must've been watching a different game."
