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Posted: 2017-02-21 00:22:46

Posted February 21, 2017 11:22:46

Leicester won the Premier League. The Western Bulldogs won the AFL premiership, and Cronulla won the NRL title. Australia can win in India.

When the Aussies take the field in Pune on Thursday, they need to do so completely convinced they can cause a famous upset over the course of four Tests. History says it will be difficult, but not impossible.

This is a developing Australian side, with a noticeable lack of experience on the sub-continent but a significant wealth of talent. If management plays its cards right, and the players stand up to be counted, success is not out of the question.

Seam, not spin, the key

It's not an entirely new concept, but it rings true ahead of this tour more than ever — Australia's fast bowlers, not its spinners, are the key to winning in India.

Any Australian hopes of Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe spinning a web through the Indian top order are misguided — if Shane Warne can't dominate a series in India, don't expect Lyon or O'Keefe to.

The match-winners for Australia will need to be Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Marsh, both with the new ball and with a reversing older one.

If India is the best spin-bowling team in the world, it makes sense that the exposure to such quality will make its batsmen the best at playing spin in the world. Australia needs another way through.

Cut your losses against Kohli

Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world. He is going to score a lot of runs during this series, and Australia needs to include those runs in its plans.

What the Aussie bowlers and captain Steve Smith can do, though, is mitigate the damage. If Kohli gets to 20, forget about it — give him singles, drop your mid-wicket back and make sure he doesn't take the Test away from you in a session.

Some may say this is too defensive, bordering on "unAustralian" (whatever that means), but it's the sort of tactics Adam Gilchrist employed in 2004 with success. If you invite Kohli to attack you, he will, and that's a duel he will almost always win.

Face the spinners with confidence

Confidence doesn't need to mean aggression, and too often are the two confused in the minds of Australian batsmen. You can defend with confidence, and against brilliant spinners like Ravi Ashwin you really have to.

When Australia fell to bits against spin in Sri Lanka last year, many of the dismissals came from meek, tentative shots or — in Usman Khawaja's case — leaving the ball altogether.

If you bat against the likes of Ashwin with doubt in your mind, he has already won. Our Aussie batsmen need conviction with every shot, whether it's a confident forward defence or a full-blooded sweep shot.

Bat deep

More Test matches and series than we might think are decided by the batting of the tail. Every run from number eight down is crucial not only on the scoreboard, but in claiming and shifting the momentum of a match.

Australia is fortunate to have a more than competent tail-end. All of Starc, Lyon, Hazlewood and O'Keefe are capable of adding handy runs or, at the very least, hanging around and frustrating the opposition.

These cameo innings turn collapses into defendable totals, and can flip the mood of a Test match. It's going to take all 11 Australians to pull their weight with the bat if a memorable victory is to be achieved.

Take your damn catches

Does this one even need mentioning? You wouldn't think so, but too many times sloppy fielding has been the undoing of Australia on tour, be it in England or India.

Take your chances. Don't let the opportunities slip, because Australia could be spending hours on end waiting for the next one. Be proactive and make something happen in the field, because one moment of brilliance can turn a Test on its head.

Again, this is basic stuff, but if Australia doesn't nail every single one of the basics it will be a lopsided series.

Topics: cricket, sport, india

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