5 ways India can defeat Australia in the upcoming Test series 

The much-awaited Test series between two giants of world cricket, India and Australia, will begin from the 6th of December. India is the top-ranked Test team in the world and will start as favorites against a depleted Australian Test side.

Australia hasn't been able to fill the void created due to the bans on Steve Smith and David Warner. They have chopped and changed the batting line-up without much success.

However, Australia should not be underestimated, especially playing at home. They gave India a run for their money in the T20 series, giving indications that it is not going to be a cakewalk for the visitors.

Also, the Indian team has its own issues to address. India's batting hasn't been at its best in the recent past and will have to get back in the groove very quickly to beat the kangaroos at home.

We will look at 5 things India need to do to defeat Australia in the Test series and retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

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#5 Overcoming the demons of England tour

Team India failed to deliver at crucial junctures against England

The Indian team had a torrid time in England. After a good show against a strong South African side in South Africa, India was expected to beat a vulnerable-looking England side.

However, things went completely opposite as England won the series comprehensively. Team India will need to learn their lessons from the tour of England and try to improve on the areas that were the reason behind their 4-1 loss.

While the current Indian team under their charismatic skipper, Virat Kohli, is never short of confidence, the players will have to bury the ghosts of past and give their best in Australia.

#4 Players maintaining fitness throughout the series

Prithvi is out of the first Test due to an ankle injury

India suffered a major blow ahead of the first Test as Prithvi Shaw was ruled out due to the ankle injury he sustained in the warm-up match. Shaw had a sensational debut series against West Indies and was expected to extend his purple patch in Australia too.

Shaw's injury has put Team India in a fix and has re-emphasized the importance of fitness, especially in overseas tours. Indian players will have to maintain high standards of fitness in order to give themselves the best chance of winning in Australia.

Moreover, Indian pacers are the team's biggest strength at the moment. But unfortunately, they have also been susceptible to injuries of late. It will be extremely crucial for Indian players to maintain their fitness throughout the series as India can ill-afford an injury in such a critical series.

#3 Attacking the fragile Australian batting line-up

Australian batsmen looked clueless against Pakistan

One area Team India needs to target is Australia's fragile batting line-up. Ever since the bans on Smith and Warner, Australia's batting has become it's Achilles' heel.

Former Australian cricketers have gone on to say that this is the weakest Australian batting side in the history of Australian cricket.

To make things worse for the Kangaroos, the current pace attack of India is regarded as the best India has had in a long time. None of the Australian batsmen look settled in the side and most of them are fighting for their place in the team.

Apart from Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh, all other batsmen in the team are still finding their feet in Test cricket.

Moreover, Australian batsmen have struggled against quality spin bowling. Indian bowlers will look to take advantage of this and attack the Australian batsmen.

#2 Not erring in selecting the Playing XI

Jadeja played just one Test against England

India's team selection in the tour of England came under heavy criticism from former players and cricket pundits.

The decision of playing Kuldeep Yadav in the second Test at Lords, playing with 5 batsmen in tough batting conditions, keeping the third ranked Test bowler, Ravindra Jadeja out of the side for most of the series are some of the controversial decisions that received a lot of flak.

The Indian team management will have to choose their playing XI wisely this time around. And they do have some tough decisions to make too. With Hardik Pandya not being around, they will have to decide whether they will go with five bowlers or four bowlers.

And if they decide to go with 4 bowlers, it remains to be seen who out of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will start in the playing XI.

Also, all the Indian pacers have been in good rhythm, making it difficult to leave any of them out. The choices that the team management makes will have a huge bearing on the final outcome of the series.

#1 Winning the battle against Australian bowling

Kohli will need support of the other batsmen in the side

One of the biggest battles, without a doubt, will be between the Indian batsmen and Australian bowlers. Indian batsmen are low on confidence and most of them are playing for their careers.

India's weakness against quality bowling attack was once again exposed in England. Most of the Indian batsmen have looked out of touch and will have their task cut out against the likes of Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood.

Even though Australia isn't quite the threat it once used to be, one should not forget that they still possess one of the strongest bowling-attacks in the world that can decimate any batting line-up on their day. And playing in Australia makes them even more lethal.

It is highly imperative for the likes of KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane to hit top form right from the first match and support their skipper, Virat Kohli, in putting up a strong batting display.