The 34-year first exposing the depth of Australia's crisis

Australia’s Test side is in the midst of its worst streak of batting performances in 34 years as they look to level the series against India.

The huge challenge facing Justin Langer’s men in the absence of Steve Smith and David Warner is laid bare by the fact Australia have surpassed 300 just once in their past 13 innings.

Not since 1984, when a weak Australian team passed 300 just once from 19 digs, has the nation’s Test batting been so fragile.

All but one of those innings came against an imposing West Indian side boasting superstars such as Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner.

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Tim Paine and Travis Head’s rearguard effort to secure a draw against Pakistan in Dubai in October was the only time the scoreboard has ticked over 300 since the first innings of Australia’s victory against South Africa in Durban.

Australia’s record since the series-opener in South Africa is zero wins, five losses and one draw.

Staring at a 1-0 deficit in the four-Test series, Langer said Australia’s batsmen had to rein in their aggression and pick their moments to attack.

“Allan Border used to say there’s more time in Test cricket than you’ll ever imagine … you can bat so much time,” Langer said on Tuesday.

“That’s one of the messages to our young batsmen.

“One of the things we talk about is partnerships and patience, building pressure on the opposition … it’s one of the important virtues of being a successful Test cricketer.”

Striking a balance between remaining patient and still keeping the scoreboard ticking over remains a work in progress for Australia’s new-look batting order.

Indian great Sachin Tendulkar expressed surprise at Australia’s slow scoring in Adelaide but Langer was comfortable that was mostly a product of the conditions.

“The wicket was really tough to score on,” he said.

“If you look at India, Virat Kohli got 30 in 120 balls or something – that’s telling you something. He’s the best player in the world.

“There was no plan to bat slowly, it’s just how the game went. Sometimes that’ll happen – sometimes you’ll get 350 in a day, sometimes you’ll get 200 in a day. India bowled well, we bowled equally as well in the first innings and it was hard to bat on with the slow outfield.”

Australia, India facing tough turnaround

A three-day turnaround between Tests shapes as a physical and mental challenge for both Australia and India.

The four-Test series continues at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Friday, with the tourists having recorded a 31-run win in Adelaide to take the early advantage.

Both teams travelled on Tuesday, essentially leaving them with just two days to recover, review what went right and wrong during the series opener then ready themselves for the second Test.

The most obvious priority for both camps, apart from Tim Paine’s finger injury that Australia coach Justin Langer insists is “absolutely fine”, is ensuring their respective pace attacks are fit and ready to fire.

Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami delivered a total of 123.4 overs in Adelaide, where Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins combined for 120.5 overs.

The six stars are likely to be licking their lips upon hearing some predictions of a pitch with plenty of pace and bounce.

However, they’re unlikely to roll the arm over much in the nets before day one of the second Test.

“They have to rest up. To hell with the nets. You just come there, mark your attendance and get away to the hotel,” India coach Ravi Shastri said.

Apart from managing players’ physical workloads, Langer is keen to ensure his inexperienced charges aren’t mentally cooked after a tense finish to Australia’s much-anticipated first home Test since the Cape Town cheating scandal.

“Training will probably look a lot different at this time of the year than perhaps we’ve seen in the past,” Langer said.

“We’ll freshen the guys up. It’s something we’re aware of. We’ll work it out over the next few days.

“On the one hand, the youth helps us because they’ll have the physical energy. It’s (also) mentally very taxing playing Test cricket. It’s really tiring’.”

Mitch Marsh will link with the Test squad but the vice-captain is likely to be left on the sidelines again.

Langer suggested quicks Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins will be fine to back up, meaning Peter Siddle will be on drinks duty once again.

“They’ve had a couple of days off. Would’ve had three or four days off (come day one). India are in exactly the same situation,” he said.