Akash reveals India plan to combat Head on Boxing Day

Indian fast bowler Akash Deep has revealed how his side plans to keep Travis Head quiet in the rest of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series after the left-hander blazed consecutive tons in the past two games.

Head, who has developed a reputation of being a thorn in the Indian team's side, is currently the leading run-scorer for the series and is 247 runs ahead of Alex Carey, his nearest teammate on the list.

However, India believe they have found the chink in his armour – the short delivery.

"I feel that Travis Head is having a problem with the short ball. We are trying to bowl short to him, so we don't let him settle down," seamer Akash Deep said on Sunday after India trained at the MCG.

"We are trying to ensure we don't bowl to him at one spot.

"We can force an error from him by putting that doubt in his head. Our plan is to create those chances to make him make a mistake."

Another change the Indians have made to try and combat Head after the second Test is the side of the wicket they've bowled from.

"We felt that in the first two matches we tried a lot from around the wicket. We thought of trying from the other side and noticed he felt a little discomfort," Akash explained.

While the top orders of both sides have been lean on runs so far this series, Australia's opening pair have averaged 19.8 from six innings. India's first-wicket average is 46, boosted by a 201-run opening stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul in the second innings in Perth.

Outside of an unbeaten 19-run stand that took the hosts to victory in Adelaide, Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney's highest opening partnership was worth 31 – in the first innings in Brisbane – with selectors opting for change ahead of the fourth Test to "throw something different at India".

McSweeney was dropped from the squad on Friday with uncapped teenage opener Sam Konstas called up for a potential Test debut on Boxing Day.

Akash sees the change as a positive sign for the Indian bowling unit and is confident of tackling Konstas, who he dismissed in the tour match against the Prime Minister's XI after youngster scored a 90-ball century.

"We have played against him in a match, so I know his game and batting style," he said.

"But as a team, we will be sticking to our plans and our strengths irrespective of who the batter is."

That plan is to make the best use of the help the seamers have been getting with the new ball.

"They are losing wickets to the new ball and finding it difficult to face it," Akash said. "Our mindset is to create maximum chances with the new ball.

"The ball is getting old after 30 overs and then we have to wait for the batter to make a mistake to take wickets. So, the aim is to keep striking with new ball."

Asked how he thinks the series was poised, the right-armer from the state of Bihar said it was '50-50'.

But he added that the visitors will be carrying the confidence they got from their fightback in Brisbane in the rest of the series.

That was largely due to Akash's heroics with the bat, hitting 31 runs in a final-wicket stand with Jasprit Bumrah to make sure India avoided the follow-on and forcing Australia to bat again on the final day of rain-affected draw.

"My mindset has always been that I should contribute to the team in some way," he said.

"It was the same that day; I wasn't thinking that I have to save the follow-on, all I was thinking was that I shouldn't get out."

Akash dismissed any concerns around injuries to himself (hand) or captain Rohit Sharma (left knee) after the duo were hit while batting in the nets on Sunday.

"Such minor wounds are not anything unusual when you are playing cricket. It's not a big concern," he reassured the media.

"But I felt the practice wicket was meant for the white ball and was keeping low. It was difficult to leave.

"But there are no concerns at all."

NRMA Insurance Men's Test Series v India

First Test: India won by 295 runs

Second Test: Australia won by 10 wickets

Third Test: Match drawn

Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10.30am AEDT

Fifth Test: January 3-7: SCG, Sydney, 10.30am AEDT

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar. Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal