Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 Decisions India need to take in order to win the 2nd T20I

Australia defeated India in a closely contested, rain curtailed first T20I at the Gabba in Brisbane. India put the Aussies into bat and were in control for most of the innings but Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis' late flourish propelled the Aussies to 174/4 in 17 overs. (The match was reduced to 17 overs).

Shikhar Dhawan looked good for India but they lost Rohit Sharma early and key batsmen KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in quick succession after that. Dhawan eventually perished too for a well-made 76 off 42 deliveries.

Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant staged an unlikely comeback and even brought India to the doorstep of victory. But after some good captaincy from Aaron Finch in removing Pant, and some good bowling from Stoinis, India fell short by 4 runs in the end.

India's loss can be attributed to their selection choices as well as a few tactical blunders. Here are 3 things they need to do if they want to win the next match.

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#3 Win the toss

Though this sound pretty simple and childish, winning the toss is very crucial for India. While touring, winning the toss is essential if you want to flourish, and Kohli has had a good time of it in the recent past.

He won the toss in the 1st T20I too, and India's decision to bowl first was actually the right one. But a poor fielding efforts, inconsistent bowling and lack of solidity from their senior batsmen resulted in a loss.

Winning the toss will be crucial for India

India will look forward to chase at the MCG where they will be playing their second match. In the last four games played at the MCG (2 ODIs and 2 in T20Is), the chasing team has won.

With a bit of luck on their side, India can certainly win the match as well as the series despite the initial setback.

#2 Drop the underperformers

This is a more serious matter to attend to. Two clear underperformers in the first T20I were Khaleel Ahmed and Krunal Pandya. KL Rahul could be added to that list too but considering how Kohli and Rohit played as well as his habit of scoring in big games overseas, India might be tempted to give him another chance.

Khaleel Ahmed is most likely to be replaced

Khaleel Ahmed is mostly likely to be replaced by Umesh Yadav for the next match. He wasn't able to hit the right lengths and was extremely inconsistent. He also wasn't able to adapt to the greater bounce on Aussie pitches, because the same deliveries which were hit for sixes would have been wicket taking deliveries on an Indian track.

Someone like Umesh, who is in good form and has the experience of playing in Australia, will fare better on a pacy Melbourne track.

Krunal Pandya might be given another outing considering that he's the only genuine all rounder in the team. India should give him a chance to bowl in the Powerplay since he doesn't turn the ball much and this can allow more overs for Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah towards the end of the innings.

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#1 Change the batting order

Rohit Sharma to Number 4, Virat Kohli to Number 3 and KL Rahul to opening

This is a rather radical thought, but could bring the desired results if tried out. Kohli batting at number 3 is what India need, but that leaves a big question mark on India's number 4 position.

Shuffling the batting order can be a radical decision but might pay off

Manish Pandey has had a bad time both in India and overseas in T20Is and Shreyas Iyer has very limited experience playing overseas. KL Rahul, who's the first choice, is low on confidence but is still Number 4 on the ICC T20 Batsman Rankings.

The problem can be solved if a senior player like Rohit Sharma raises his hand and accepts to play at number 4, allowing Rahul to open the batting where he can try to replicate his IPL form.

India will surely hesitate to break the Dhawan-Rohit combination as both of them have looked brilliant, but Rohit has it in him to excel down the order too. He has batted at number 4 for the Mumbai Indians and if India take this big risk, they might well be rewarded with great batting performances along with boosting the confidence of Rahul, who will be crucial for both the T20Is and the Test matches to follow.