India’s tweaker revelled in the moment and would have had a hat-trick had wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia not spilled a tough chance. However, her wicketkeeper snaffled another edge from Jess Jonassen moments later to put Australia in all sorts of trouble at 6-82.

Yadav finished with 4-19 from four overs, the third-best figures by an Indian woman at a T20 World Cup, and looked to have bowled Ash Gardner too but the ball bounced twice, therefore making it a no-ball in comical circumstances.

Despite some late resistance from   Gardner (34 from 36) Australia were unable to recover from a staggering collapse of 9-60 as they fell short by 17 runs to be all out for 115 in humiliating fashion.

The pressure of being favourites at a home World Cup is intense and this slip-up at the first hurdle is nothing short of a disaster for the Australians, particularly given the game was theirs for the taking after restricting India to a modest total.

Upcoming clashes with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, ranked eighth and ninth in the world respectively, now have far greater significance. Another loss could  spell the end of the world No.1 side's tournament.

India's slow bowlers were superb and inflicted a result that will make other teams sit up and take notice.

While it will be hard to take solace in positives, Healy reached double figures for the first time in seven innings this month. She marked the milestone by freeing her arms and dispatching Rajeshwari Gayakwad over cover for a confidence-boosting boundary but could not go on once she passed 50.

Meanwhile, in the space of 48 hours, Molly Strano went from out of the Australian squad altogether to bowling the first over of the tournament.

After a first over that went for two singles, Strano’s grin was wiped away quick smart when the Victorian dropped Shafali Verma off the bowling of Perry.

India’s response? A flurry of eight boundaries in 14 balls to inject a serious dose of anxiety into the Australian ranks.

Verma, who turned 16 less than a month ago, oozed composure and crunched boundaries with the authority of player 10 times as experienced.

Orthodox tweaker Jonassen got the breakthrough, trapping Smriti Mandhana in front, before Verma’s glittering cameo came to an end on 29 when she pulled Perry but spooned a catch to Annabelle Sutherland at mid-on.

There was a moment of good fortune for Healy when, in attempting to execute a stumping, the ball ricocheted off her pad and trickled onto the stumps. She could only laugh as Australia sensed a shift of momentum with three scalps in quick succession before the end of the seventh over.

If only they could have seized the moment like India did later in the evening.

Indian middle-order batters Jemimah Rodrigues (26 from 33) and Deepti Sharma (49 from 46) were happy to turn the strike over and operate in second gear. The world’s fourth-ranked side only hit one boundary in the 72 deliveries after Verma was sent packing.

Australia’s outfielders were sharp, while Jonassen (2-24) and Delissa Kimmince (1-24) bowled to their field as the home side restricted India, but late panic with the bat was concerning in many aspects.