Australia use their Head to break through India’s wall

From the start of Nathan Lyon's first over to Cheteshwar Pujara in Adelaide last week, the key man in Australia's plan to break through India's batting wall was Travis Head.

When Lyon was called into the attack on day one of the first Vodafone Test, Head joined Matthew Wade in stationing himself close to Pujara alongside the pitch, Head at silly point and Wade at bat-pad.

And almost immediately, Head had an impact.

Crouched down in Pujara's eyeline, the South Australian's presence seemed to unsettle India's batting rock, who nervously prodded and poked at three deliveries in Lyon's opening over, with the ball squirting just out of reach of the close fielders.

Head and Wade remained in place for all 35 deliveries that Lyon bowled to Pujara on day one of the series, the only change coming when Head stepped back a couple of paces to seemingly allow himself more reaction time for any ball that flew his way.

And when Pujara did manage to get off strike, Head then joined Wade on the on-side and stationed himself at leg slip for Virat Kohli.

But he remained at silly point for every ball Pujara faced from Lyon and the Indian's slow scoring rate allowed the Australians to also add Marnus Labuschagne at leg slip, a move that ultimately proved decisive.

Partway through Lyon's 10th over, another nervous lean forward from Pujara, and an uncertain prod with his bat found the inside edge and presented a catch around the corner the Queenslander dove forward to pouch.

Today, Lyon declined to delve into details of Australia's tactics to the Indian batting machine, but he was happy to acknowledge that their recast bowling plans had already borne fruit.

"I can't reveal all secrets … but obviously Pujara is a world-class batter and he's going to be a big challenge for us for the rest of the series," he said.

"We spoke about him in depth before the series started and it was good to see a couple of plans come off in Adelaide.

"But we've got a couple more things up our sleeve (so) if he does get in, we can put (them) in place.

"He's a world-class batter and it's always fun challenging yourself against the best players in the world and Pujara is definitely one of those guys."

Another key to Lyon's hold over Pujara in Adelaide last week was his variations in pace; speeds up to 92kph and the pressure applied from the aggressive field setting didn't allow the Indian star to advance down the pitch with any certainty.

Lyon said his work with spin coach John Davison in recent years has allowed him to bowl slightly faster without losing the trademark shape that has carried him to within nine wickets of 400 in a Test career that shows no signs of slowing down.

Again, Lyon played his cards close to his chest today, but said the opening Test proved to be a valuable source of intelligence for the rest of the series.

"I can't really reveal them, but I know there's a few different guys who have different techniques when they come down (the pitch), so they have different triggers as well," he said.

"As a bowler, you're always looking out for these triggers and hopefully you can get one step ahead of them. That's something I've noticed in a couple of guys; they change a little bit when they want to come down the wicket.

"It's all part of bowling spin; you've got to try and take notice of these sort of things and make sure you're trying to bowl your best ball."

Earlier this week, Pat Cummins – who removed Pujara for naught in India's second innings – conceded Adelaide's helpful wicket also played into Australia's hands as they tried to quell the impact of the Indian run machine.

And while one quiet Test by Pujara's lofty standards does not mean the battle is won, Cummins agreed that Australia's new-look plans had been effective so far.

"It felt like there was a bit of sideways movement, so we could just challenge his defence over and over again, and having a bit of bounce in the wicket certainly helped," the paceman said.

"(Lyon) bowled beautifully to him in the first innings, but we're really clear on what we want to do to him.

"You saw we brought another man to the leg side as well, to try to really attack his stumps.

"He batted really well in the first innings (scoring 43 from 160 balls), but we bowled well enough for the scoreboard not to go anywhere.

"So you feel like when you get him out, if he hasn't got onto that big score then you're right in the game."

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

First Test: Australia won by eight wickets

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT