Aussie bats' timely reminder to 'trust their method'

Australia would have been forgiven for wanting to put Nagpur firmly in the rear-view mirror, but it is hoped a final hit-out in the central Indian city will allow their top-order to recalibrate their approach to playing spin.

As VCA Stadium workers dismantled sponsors banners in the stands on what should have been day five of the first Test, a humbled Aussie top-order spent Monday morning having a long training session.

The watering of the main strip by eager groundstaff on Sunday had put paid to their hopes of training on the pitch they were trounced on by an innings and 132 runs.

The adjacent centre-wicket strip the tourists practiced on proved equally challenging.

Coach Andrew McDonald insisted these were not "naughty boy nets". The session, held a day before the side's departure for Delhi where the second Test will be held, was optional but all of the squad's batters were present.

David Warner batted for the longest against local bowlers and former New Zealand spinner Dan Vettori's beguiling throwdowns, speaking to Marnus Labuschagne about his batting approach.

It was a rarity to see Steve Smith not strap on the pads, but he nonetheless watched intently from side-on and offered input to teammates on foot movement and shot selection.

The visitors' brains trust wants their batters to be brave after they were rolled for just 91 in their second innings, but Alex Carey insists Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel showed patience can be as effective as proactiveness.

In fact the wicketkeeper-batter admitted he had been somewhat spooked before he went out to bat and he tilted his approach too far towards the latter.

"You can fall into over-playing conditions and certain names. What you see before you go out to bat as well can change your method a bit," said Carey, who was out reverse-sweeping in both innings of the first Test.

"For myself today (at training) I went back to batting more than anything else and reacting to what's being bowled down at me and trusting that method. 

"Maybe (I was) a little bit too keen to play a different style, but in my first Test over here that's not a bad learning to have.

"Hopefully I can find that balance – along with all our players as well. We obviously want to be proactive, but calm and patient (as well), and we had a pretty good look at that first-hand with a few of their players.

"At times it might be (required to bat) in fast-forward mode but Jadeja and Axar showed as well, you can be pretty patient."

Cameron Green trained separately, having a long bat in the nets out the back of the ground and looked at close to full pace while bowling as he looks to prove his fitness for the second Test.

The only sign that suggested the allrounder is not at completely full fitness was the sight of him catching with soft balls as he looks to protect the finger he broke in the Boxing Day Test.

"He's looking pretty good," said Carey. "I'm not 100 per cent sure (how is progressing) – he's a fantastic allrounder for the country. It will be nice to see him back soon. How much do you push it, we'll leave that to the selectors, but he's looking pretty good."

Travis Head was also hard at work after his shock omission, with Carey tipping him to play a role in this series at some stage.

"He was disappointed not to be a part of it but he's been fantastic," Carey of his South Australian captain. "He's out there bowling and batting, we love having him around, I love having him around.

"His response was great for the group. He'll play a big part this series. If he's in next Test he's looking pretty good out there and his bowling's come on a long way. His response has been really good."

There were plenty of dismissals during Australia's Sunday training session but there was a clear desire to find confidence in their respective approaches before it is too late.

Australia have never come back from 0-1 to win a Test series in India, but recent history does suggest it is possible.

England's famous 2012 triumph, which marks the last visiting team to win a Test series in India, came after they were comprehensively accounted for in the first Test in Ahmedabad.  

India have also turned the tables twice on the Aussies in recent times; they came back to win the two sides' most recent encounter down under in 2020-21 following the Adelaide all-out 36 match, while their 2001 series win was even more memorable, having bounced back from losing in Mumbai and then following on in Kolkata to win a three-Test epic.

"It is the first Test of four and we're still very positive amongst ourselves that we'll be able to bounce back in Delhi and get this series back on level (terms) and continue to believe in what we've done over the past 12 to 18 months," said Carey.

"I think we're a really strong Test team. We've got all bases covered. Unfortunately it didn't go to plan this first Test, but we're definitely reinforcing the messages we've had leading into the tour."

Border-Gavaskar Qantas Tour of India 2023

February 9-13: India won by an innings and 132 runs

February 17-21: Second Test, Delhi, 3pm AEDT

March 1-5: Third Test, Indore, 3pm AEDT

March 9-13: Fourth Test, Ahmedabad, 3pm AEDT

All matches will be broadcast live and exclusive on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

India squad: (for the first two Tests) Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav