Australia vs India 2018-19: Is this India's best ever chance of recording a Test series win Down Under?

10 years ago, on 19 January 2008, India defeated Australia by 72 runs at Perth to keep their hopes alive in a series marred with controversies. But since then, India have toured Australia twice and haven't registered a single victory in eight matches.

The Indian cricket team is scheduled to play four Test matches over the next couple of months. And this might just be the best chance they have ever had of defeating Australia in Australia, and creating history in the process.

First and foremost though, they need to have a clear mindset while selecting the playing XI. Performances on home soil should not be the sole criterion for getting a place in the team; instead, only those players who are adept at the art of playing in pace-friendly conditions should be picked.

Secondly, with a gap of 10 days between the end of the T20 series and the start of the Test matches, the team should play practice matches so that they get accustomed to the conditions. The Indian management seem to have learnt from their past mistakes, where the team didn't have enough practice in South Africa and England before the start of the Test series there, and have therefore decided to give the players ample game time and practice ahead of the start of the series Down Under.

Thirdly, Virat Kohli needs to stop his chop-and-change policy in every match he captains for Team India. He seems to be of the belief that to get the right winning combination he should constantly alter players to see who fits best. But he needs to realize that this brings down the morale of the players; you end up running through a lean patch when you see your captain showing little faith in your abilities.

The opening conundrum also needs to be sorted out. Shikhar Dhawan has been left out of the squad after a poor Test series back in England, but there's Murali Vijay, KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw eyeing the top 2 spots. Kohli needs to decide his top order quickly, and give the chosen batsmen ample time to settle.

Further, the Indian batsmen need to stop their over-reliance on Kohli. Be it South Africa or England or in fact the last tour to Australia, Kohli has been leading the batting charts every single time. But it's high time someone else steps up too and takes the burden from Kohli's shoulders so that the captain can play more freely.

They also need to define the exact role of the all-rounder in the team. In the last series in England, Hardik Pandya performed miserably with the bat and only grabbed five wickets in an innings once. Hanuma Vihari, if selected, should be told by the team management whether he will be a batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder, as that could make a big difference in his approach.

Lastly the problem of removing the opposition tail-enders cheaply needs to be addressed. The bowling unit has stepped up a great deal in the past couple of series, but sometimes they get stuck in a rut and are unable to get the lower order batsmen out. This is a serious concern for which some painstaking planning needs to be done.

With a lot going in the Australian team in the past few months, the hosts have a new-look squad. That means this could be India's best chance of defeating Australia in their own den.

The current Australian squad's strengths lie in their bowling, with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins who can be quite handy on any given day. The pitches, however, should suit the batsmen more than what the Indian batsmen faced in England, where the ball moved away more frequently.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane, the three best batsmen apart from Kohli in overseas conditions, need to tackle this Australian bowling unit and find their form back. For the fast bowlers, the new ball will be of help to a certain extent, but once the Kookaburra gets older, the batsmen will call the shots.

One of the primary reasons the Indian team came close to winning a Test series in England and South Africa was that there has been an emergence of a plethora of quality fast bowlers lately, which was not the case previously. Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have been decent enough with their line and length to pick 20 wickets every match.

The current Indian pace attack is one of the best in the world, and the good thing is that there is good bench strength too. The depleted Aussie team sans David Warner and Steven Smith would provide the No. 1 Test team in the world the chance to create history by winning their first series Down Under. It remains to be seen whether Kohli & Co take that chance.