Australia dropped the opening game of their Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home, dominated at home by India as the visiting team registered a massive 295 run victory over their hosts in what is typically considered a fortress for the Aussies in Perth. While India’s batting came in clutch, the larger concern for Australia will be the twin failures with bat, in particular for the heart of their batting order in Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.

With the pair having a torrid time in Test cricket in recent months, with records that don’t reflect the quality they have shown in the past.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, one of the finest batters in the history of the sport, reflected on the struggles of the duo, and spoke about how the pair of batters could learn from Virat Kohli. Kohli, himself going through a rough patch, bounced back with a century in Perth.

"Marnus looked the most tentative out of all the batters in Perth. Yes, it was high quality bowling on a difficult wicket, but he needs to find a way to turn it around," Ponting said on the ICC Review. Labuschagne in particular has come in for criticism following the first Test match, looking totally off-colour as he had a 52-ball struggle for just 2 runs in the first innings, followed by a dismissal LBW while offering no shot in the second innings.

Ponting gave the example of Kohli, who changed his style to focus on himself rather than be preoccupied thinking about Australia’s bowlers during his second innings century. "Virat went back to trusting his game and he looked like a different player in the second innings than he did in the first innings,” explained Ponting. “He (Kohli) got away from trying to combat the opposition and focused on his strengths. That's what Marnus and Smith need to do - find their own way and show great intent.”

‘The Bumrahs of the world…’

Ponting will be back in Australia for commentary duties, having been away for the IPL auction alongside his new team Punjab Kings last week. He also discussed the pressure Indian bowlers could implement, but reminded Australia’s batters that the best way to cope was by counterpunching and not letting themselves be dominated at home.

"You have to find a way to take risks and put it back on those guys because you know the Bumrahs of the world… they're not going to give you too many easy scoring opportunities. When they do, you've got to be ready to pounce on it and put it away and try and put some pressure back on them," concluded the legendary Australian captain.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will continue with the day-night Test match, set to be played at the Adelaide Oval beginning on December 6, as Australia look to level proceedings and India try to take charge of the series with a strong 2-0 lead.

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