It did not come as a surprise that the Aussies defeated India in the Melbourne Test. What was disappointing was the margin of victory.

The Indians had fought back well on the first day in taking nine wickets for what was not a mammoth score of 337. This was where the Indian bowlers were let down by the batsmen.

The Aussies showed how far they are ahead of the rest of the world in terms of preparation, and more importantly, execution. They managed to restrict the scoring of the Indians in both innings to such an extent that even after Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman stayed at the crease for long periods, they did not have any runs to show. Yes, the Indians lacked preparation time ahead of the Test but then the wicket was more sub-continent than Australian.

'The way the Aussies rotated the strike and made use of the freebies is something the Indian batsmen would do well to emulate'

The Indians need to look no further than the Australian team for inspiration. The way their batsman rotated the strike and made use of the freebies is something that the Indian batsmen would do well to emulate. The batsmen should try different shots to put the bowling out of rhythm - just look at the way Matthew Hayden stepped out to Zaheer Khan, when he started bowling round the wicket.

The Indian batsmen could consider seeing a psychologist - the problems seem to be more mental than anything else. The one man who needs it more than anyone is Dravid. He might agree to open in team meetings but he is not comfortable in this slot. He does not know whether to be aggressive or defensive.

VVS and Sourav Ganguly were looking good at the crease before they were undone by Aussie thinking (not bowling). Should Sehwag be brought back to the Indian team? Since there is not much time before the Sydney Test, a change might be good. Yuvraj Singh should be rested for the next two matches if Sehwag is included.