'They should be...': Mitchell Johnson's advice for Australia to put India under pressure

With just a handful of days left before the start of the Border-Gavaskar trophy between India and Australia, former ace Aussie left-armer Mitchell Johnson came up with a piece of advice for Australia to put India under pressure. The series is set to start from Thursday, February 9. 

Ahead of the first Test that will be played at the VCA stadium, Nagpur, Mitchell Johnson came forward with a piece of suggestion for the Baggy Greens. Johnson states if Australia could put a decent total upfront then India may come under pressure. Looking at the spin factor that will be present on the pitches, Johnson said Nathan Lyon could turn out to be key for Australia.   

"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 Aussies have taken over four spinners and while the Indians would respect Nathan Lyon’s experience and Test record, they wouldn’t be fearing any of them. Indian batsmen use their feet well and hit spin very correctly," Johnson wrote in his column for The West Australian.

"Australia will play a Test in Nagpur this week for the first time since 2008, when Jason Krejza took 12 wickets. Expect a pitch that is very flat early and without any grass. There won’t be much swing either and it will be very tough work for the quicks. Lyon with his ability to find extra bounce should like bowling in a Test in Nagpur for the first time," Johnson added.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy: India Vs Australia squads 

India squad for the first two Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, C Pujara, V Kohli, S Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.

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