New Delhi, Jan. 23 -- The Indian team management started preparing for Australian tour way before it actually began and the plan laid out by head coach Ravi Shastri fell exactly into place during the gruelling four-match series Down Under. India won the series 2-1 after beating hosts at 'Fortress Gabba' by three wickets on the final day of the tour to retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy which they won on the Australian turf for first time during the 2018-19 series.

As the country was slowly returning to normalcy after the lockdown, India's coaching staff - under the leadership of head coach Ravi Shastri had come up with a plan July onwards to tackle Tim Paine's men during the year-end series.

The idea was to bowl a straight line and make ...