BGT 2023: Mitchell Johnson shares mantra to succeed in India

Cummins and Andrew McDonald in press conference [Associated Press]

Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson reckons that "good first-innings totals" will be vital for Australia in order to put the Indian team under pressure on spinning tracks.

Australia will be playing against a dominant Indian team in their backyard with the hope to break a 19-year drought on Indian soil. It was way back in 2004 that Australia last won a Test series in India.

In his column for the West Australian, Johnson wrote about Australia's chances of conquering Australia's final frontier.

Johnson, who has visited India twice and took 21 wickets in seven Tests with a solitary fifer, urged the visiting Australian team to make the most of the first innings with the bat.

"If the Aussies can bat first a couple of times early in the series, at venues which are expected to take a fair bit of spin, and get good first-innings totals on the board, that will put a bit of pressure back onto India."

The clamour that the tourists must make the first innings count is mainly because of the poor returns of the team batting second in India.

Posting a big first-innings total and countering the spinners will be crucial to Australia's chances in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.

Australia and India will square off in the four-match Test series, starting on February 9th in Nagpur.

There's plenty at stake for both teams as they play for the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy. This series will decide the finalists of the second cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). For India to reach the WTC final, they must win the series 3-1 or 4-0.

ALSO READ: Heinrich Klassen smashes century as Durban’s Super Giants hammer Pretoria Capitals