Mumbai: India’s successive wins on the last two visits of Australia, 2020-21 & 2018-19, doesn’t alter the fact that it remains one of the toughest places to tour, especially for teams from the subcontinent. The five-Test series Down Under beginning from November 22, now assumes even greater importance because India will need to win four of them to make it to the WTC final next year.

To start with, landing there, it’s critical to be in the best frame of mind for any team. The signs for the India side are not good. A whitewash at home is never the ideal build-up. Obviously, the confidence of the players takes a hit following a series of defeats, against New Zealand, affects their morale. The challenge for the the team management will be to lift the side and get them to believe that they can compete against a daunting Australia side in their backyard.

Talking about the team’s challenge, India captain Rohit admitted “Australia is not an easy place to play cricket... which is why we are trying to go there a little early just to get used to the conditions. (But) We can take a lot of confidence in how we played in the last two series in Australia. In the back of our minds, we have to think like that. We will think positively as to what happened in the last two series that we played there,” Rohit said after India lost the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

You look up to your senior players for inspiration and expect them to set the tone. That’s India’s major hurdle in light of the poor returns of Rohit Sharma (91 runs in six innings at an average of 15.16) and Virat Kohli (93 runs at an average of 15.50). Even their most successful bowler, R Ashwin, had a below-par showing (9 wickets at an average of 41.22). So, who is there to show the way?

“Obviously, it’s (senior batters failing) a cause of concern without a doubt. But what’s done is done now. As a player, as a captain, as the team, we all have to look forward and see how we can correct what we didn’t manage to achieve here. There is a good opportunity for us to go and do something really special in Australia. So, we will focus on that.

“We will try and see what needs to be done there. Most guys have been there and there are few who haven’t been there. So, it will be a good challenge for guys who have been there also and the guys who are travelling for the first time to Australia. Without a doubt, we do understand the importance of this series. Right now, it’s just trying to understand what we didn’t do right, and what we need to do better as a team. We made a lot of mistakes. So, those mistakes need to be addressed, it’s something we will talk about. Moving forward, when you land in Australia, I think it’s important to just focus on that particular series, the first Test match. It’s a five-Test match series so it’s important to break down those Test matches and focus on one Test and then take it from there.”

Having upset the odds to beat Australia on their previous two tours Down Under, India’s chances of completing the rare feat of completing a hat-trick of wins was rated highly until a month ago. For their sheer fighting spirit and ability to come back from the most difficult of situations, they were expected to hold the edge. But the dynamics have changed in the last three weeks after an insipid display against the Kiwis.

India will not be playing a practice match before the first Test, scrapping a game they were supposed to play against India A at the WACA in favour of centre-wicket training with India A. This means the first game of any kind they will play during the Border-Gavaskar series is the opening Test match in Perth. For a crisis-hit side starting the Test series at Perth is not an ideal situation to be in. It’s one of the fastest tracks in the world, and it takes some time to adjust to the bounce of the Australian tracks. It’s going to test the technique of the young players in the side.

“Yeah, that’s going to be very, very challenging (changing mindset from conditions in Mumbai and Perth). We do talk a lot about the game, but sitting with every individual and telling them what needs to be done or how you need to get your mindset right is something that is going to be challenging for us because they come up with a certain mindset, certain thinking about their own game. It has given them success in the past.

“But, we all understand that Australia is going to be a different ballgame. For all the young players who haven’t been there before us, it will be important to create an environment where they feel comfortable and don’t get intimidated by where they’re playing and who they’re playing against. It’s important that from our side, we keep telling them that it’s another place to play cricket. It is challenging, but as a group, the last two times we’ve been there, we won the series. So, we can take a lot of confidence from that and then keep moving ahead with that. They all are quite smart about their plans. So, I expect them to come really, really good in Australia as well.”

Rohit said they preferred to have match simulation instead of a practice game so that the key players can get full practice.

“It was only three days that were allotted to us (for a practice game). And I don’t know how much workload we can get done in those three days in terms of getting everyone prepared. We want to maximise this three-day slot. I feel this is the best way to do it where the batters can have a lot of time in the middle and the bowlers at the same time can get their workload in terms of getting the number of balls bowled in the middle. I think we’ll be training at WACA, which is as close to Optus where you have that bounce and carry. So hopefully we can use those three days perfectly and maximise how much ever we can from our point of view.”

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