Bracing for a challenging Test series against India who are having a dream run in the last 18 months, Australian players slogged it out in nets in Wednesday, two days after landing in Mumbai for the four-match rubber starting on February 23 at Pune.
The visitors had their first practice session at the Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai.
Most of the batsmen, including left-handed David Warner, captain Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Usman Khawaja, practised in the nets.
The batsmen also focused on running between the wickets, while some players also practised slip catching.
Fully aware they will face a potent spin attack on Indian pitches known to assist tweakers, the Aussies were seen playing local spinners besides have a session against their spin consultant Sriram Sridharan.
The Virat Kohli-led squad is on a roll, having gone unbeaten in the last 19
Team India has comprehensively beaten England, New Zealand and Bangladesh and are undefeated at home since 2012.
Before travelling to Pune, the tourists will take on India 'A' in a three-day practice game at the same venue from February 17.
"It's a great challenge to play here in India. We know if we can pull something off and win a series here, we can look back at it in 10-20 years as some of the best times in our life. It's a great occasion to play here in India," Smith had said on Tuesday.
The first game in the series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is to be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association's stadium in Pune, which will host its first-ever Test, from February 23-27, while the second match is to be held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from March 4-8.
The last two Tests are to be staged in Ranchi (March 16-20) and Dharamshala (March 25-29) -- the two other centres which will be conducting Tests for the first time.
