Australia vs India 2018-19: 3 things India should change to ensure that they go 2-0 up at Perth

India created history on Monday, the 10th of December 2018, when they defeated Australia in the first Test of the 4-match series. Never before in the history of the India-Australia rivalry has India started a Test series in Australia on a winning note.

With history being made in Adelaide, India will now go to Perth in the hope of going 2-0 up. However, Australia will undoubtedly want to hit back firing at all cylinders, in order to redeem themselves.

Playing without two of their main batsmen, Steve Smith and David Warner, the hosts have a batting lineup that is quite lackluster. Before the start of the series itself, India were termed favorites, and now they have proved why.

In the first Test, India scored 250 in the first innings, with Cheteshwar Pujara being the top-scorer with 123 runs under his belt. The second top scorer was comeback man Rohit Sharma, who scored 37 before throwing his wicket away.

The Indian openers and Virat Kohli together added only 16 runs to the total. Ajinkya Rahane also got out cheaply for 13 runs. It was only down to Pujara, who kept batting till the 9th wicket, to take India to a good total.

Then came the Australian batting. The first blow for them was delivered very quickly, in the first over itself, when Ishant Sharma dislocated the bails behind opener Aaron Finch. The Australian batting card also read much like the Indians, with Travis Head batting till the 9th wicket, scoring 72, while the others kept making small contributions.

In the end, Australia finished their innings 15 runs short of India's total, which meant India came in to bat with a slight advantage.

The second innings for the Indian team was a much better one with a 63-run opening partnership. This time again Pujara topped the scorecard, with 71 runs. However, significant contributions from KL Rahul (44 runs) and Rahane (70 runs) meant that India succeeded in going past the 300 run mark and setting a target of 323 for Australia to win the match.

Australia had a decent start, but were reduced to 101-4 before the end of stumps on Day 4. However, the resilience from the lower order saw the hosts battle it out till almost the very end, losing the match by just 31 runs.

Though India will be on a high when they take the field on Friday, in Perth, here are the three things they must try to improve on to keep the winning momentum intact.

#3. The over-stepping issue

In the final innings of the Test match, Ishant Sharma caught Aaron Finch in front of the wickets. Finch was given out LBW before he reviewed it, only to see that Ishant had over-stepped.

These mistakes can cost India heavily. No-balls are the last mistake a bowler should be allowed, especially in a Test match. And when a wicket is disallowed due to over-stepping, it just goes from bad to worse.

So along with the discipline in line and length, the bowlers also need to keep an eye on the bowling crease, and avoid such mistakes. These no-balls had a negative impact on the otherwise excellent and disciplined bowling performance.

#2. Vijay's form, and Rohit's shot selection

Murali Vijay was dropped midway through the Test series against England. He made a comeback into the side after playing well in the county season, and other domestic matches. He even scored a quick century in the practice match against Cricket Australia XI, owing to which he got a place in the playing XI for the first Test.

However, another reason for his inclusion into the team was the injury to young opener Prithvi Shaw.

Vijay could not perform well in the first test.

Ideally, after scoring runs in Australia in the practice match and having got an opportunity to get back as a permanent opener in the playing XI of the Indian Test side, Vijay should have made full use of his lifeline. But he failed to do so, scoring a total of just 16 runs in the match.

This will only increase the questions on his form and inclusion into the side. Again, due to Shaw's injury, Vijay will likely play in the second Test as well, and will have to score big to cement his place.

Rohit Sharma needs to spend some time to get into the Test batting groove

Another comeback man was Rohit Sharma. He was a part of the Test team which toured South Africa, but he did not perform according to his potential and was dropped. However, on the back of his ongoing form in the limited overs formats, he got selected for the first Test against Australia.

Rohit came in at No. 6 and scored a decent 37 runs in the first innings. He hit three big sixes, before playing an absolutely needless shot off Nathan Lyon and getting caught in the deep.

The second outing in the match did not last long and he got out for just 1 run.

Rohit urgently needs to improve on his shot selection, and needs to adapt to the Test match batting style. For a player of his caliber, he needs to spend a lot more time in the middle, after which he will automatically start scoring.

Vijay's form and Rohit shot selection - both have the same solution which is to spend some time in the middle, without thinking about the runs scored.

#1. Pant's approach, and the lower order batting woes

Rishabh Pant contributed nicely with the gloves in the match, equaling the record of 11 catches in a Test match. To accompany that, he played a beautiful cameo in the second innings, scoring 28 runs in just 16 balls.

The lower order, which consists of the four bowlers, did beautifully when it came to bowling. But in the batting department, the bowlers threw away their wickets mindlessly; the lower order got out in a span of just 25 runs in the second innings.

Young Rishabh Pant will have to work on his approach.

Pant has been in good touch since the England tour, and his shot-making has no question marks. But the way he approaches the game seems in need of some refinement.

That approach of going after every ball, and trying to send every ball into the stands, needs to be tweaked. He has to work on his defense, and learn to choose the bad balls for hitting boundaries.

Pant looks very good when his no-holds-barred approach gets him big runs, like it did in the last two innings in England. But when he gets out for a low score, it looks very ugly and irresponsible.

Ashwin and other bowlers will have to step up in the batting department.

Another problem is the batting contribution of the bowlers. The lower order looked loose on their technique in the first Test. Both Ashwin and Shami have the ability to score at least 30-odd runs in every innings they play, if they can spend some time and settle in.

However, in the first Test and especially in the second innings, both of them perished to shots that were not at all needed at that point in the game. They were both caught in the deep, after lofting deliveries that could have been easily left or played around for an easy single.

If the wicket-keeper and the bowlers both work on tightening up their defense, the scorecard could have a difference of at least 40 to 50 odd runs in every innings. And those extra runs could make a whole lot of difference in the result of the match.