Captain Steve Smith struck an epic, unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell celebrated his return with a maiden century to help Australia post a series-high 451 on day two of the third test against India on Friday.

Lion-hearted left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bowled the bulk of the overs to claim 5-124 and effected a spectacular run-out to wrap up Australia's innings and somewhat lift the mood for the hosts.

India were 20 for no loss at tea, with Lokesh Rahul on 18 and Murali Vijay on two.

Home skipper Virat Kohli, who did not take the field after sustaining a shoulder injury in Thursday's second session, was expected to bat.

After Australia had resumed on 299-4, paceman Umesh Yadav broke Maxwell's bat in two with the very first delivery but it failed to unsettle the batsman.

The normally swashbuckling Maxwell assiduously inched his way to become the second Australian cricketer after Shane Watson to score a century in all three formats.

After reaching his hundred with a fierce cut that flew through the slips for his ninth boundary, Maxwell looked quite overwhelmed by the achievement as he embraced Smith with a huge bear-hug, took off his helmet and kissed the badge.

He added four more runs to his score before edging Jadeja to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha for 104. Maxwell also hit two sixes and faced 185 balls in his four-hour vigil, the longest he has spent on the crease in an international match.

Better known for his exploits in the shorter formats, the 28-year-old grasped his chance in his first test outing in more than two years to build a series-high 191-run partnership with his skipper.

Smith, who crossed 5,000 test runs in Australia's 800th test, the first ever at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium, was in complete control at the other end.

His 19th test century, which contained 17 boundaries, is the highest score by an Australia captain in India, eclipsing predecessor Michael Clarke's 130 in Chennai four years ago.

Jadeja, who bowled more than a third of the overs in the Australia innings, kept India in the game, dismissing Matthew Wade for 37 and the scoreless Pat Cummins in the same over.

Smith missed his double century when he sprinted for a risky second run and bowler Jadeja, his back to the stumps, collected a throw and flicked the ball onto the stumps to run out Josh Hazlewood.

The four-test series is all square at 1-1.