3 mistakes India should avoid to win Australian Test series

Upcoming Australian Test series in all probability appears to be India's for the taking. Australian batting line-up is very fragile and their recent record as an international side is poor, to say the least. If India happens to concede this series then it would be more the case of India losing the series rather than Australia winning it. Though Indian batting line-up is not the very best, it is not as unsettled as Australia's batting line-up and India has the bowling to make Australia pay for it.

To avoid losing a series which seems theirs for taking India should avoid making certain mistakes. Let's take a look at things India should not do during the series :

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#1 Should not Open with Rahul

Rahul is woefully out of form at the moment

Kl Rahul seems to be short on confidence at the moment and going with the recent history of Indian team selection it appears that India will go with Rahul as the second opener. Opening with Rahul will be a gamble considering his recent form. If India happens to lose an early wicket, It will put India on the backfoot straightway and will boost Australia's confidence.

India should go on the recent form and select Vijay instead of Rahul. Vijay had a decent run in the county cricket after his ouster from the Indian team and his record in Australia is also something to write home about.

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#2 Should avoid over aggression while batting

Pujara should play to his strengths and avoid aggression

One mistake that India kept repeating throughout the English series was playing outside the off stump, which shows that they were not patient enough. India would need to do some old school batting during the Australian series, especially Indian openers. With the advent of T-20 cricket, batsmen fail to show patience when required in Test cricket. There is a saying in cricket- give few hours to bowlers and rest of the day is yours, India needs to do just this if they want to score heavily during the first innings of a Test match. On reasonably good Australian pitches, a heavy first inning score is imperative, otherwise, the Indian team might have to play the catch-up game throughout the series.

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#3 Need to have plans for the Australian Lower-Middle order

Starc & co. are capable to contribute lower down the order

One glaring mistake that came out of India's performance in England was no planning for English lower middle-order, which eventually proved to be the difference between the two sides. India should avoid the same mistake against Australia otherwise they will pay a heavy price as Australian lower middle order is capable of putting up some important runs on the board. Also, they should ensure that bowlers do not run out of gas by the time Australian lower middle comes out to bat.