Australia vs India 2018: Two Mistakes India Should Avoid to Win the Test Series

Team India will be desperate to rewrite the history books when they resume their fierce rivalry against Australia in the four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy starting from December 6 (Thursday).

Meanwhile, India is yet to win a Test series in their previous 11 tours to this country. However, many former greats have tipped India as the favourites this time around against a weak Aussie side. The hosts will be without their two crucial players in the form of Steven Smith and David Warner due to bans.

However, beating the Aussies at their home turf and India needs to avoid few mistakes to this series their own.

Here are the two mistakes India should avoid to win the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia:

Should Not be Over Aggressive With the Bat

Too much aggression during batting has always hurt India on their overseas tours. With the advent of T20 cricket, batsmen have developed a tendency to play shots rather than spend time at the crease. During India’s recent overseas tours to South Africa and England, this has been a significant drawback, and the batters have thrown their wickets after getting set.

The batting line-up which boasts some talented players needs to show patience and spend time in the middle to put good scores on the board. On reasonably good Australian pitches, a massive first inning score is must; otherwise, the Indian team might have to play the catch-up game throughout the series.

Need to Set Plans for the Australian Lower Order

England lower-order batsmen gave tough time to India when Virat Kohli & Co toured to England earlier this year. Indian bowling unit had no plans for them as they made the difference in the outcome of the five-match Test series.

However, India will have to be cautious about Australia’s lower-order, who boasts some good hitters and can change the course of the game. The likes of Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon are handy with the bat and can bat long adding an extra yard to the team.

The bowling department of the visiting team have to wary of it and keep Australia’s lower-order in check.