Top 5 Learnings for India from Australia's 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan

#3 Try to block David Warner and Steven Smith’s scoring areas

The only way to stop Smith from settling down is to block his scoring areas effectively

Among the major errors in Misbah-ul-Haq’s captaincy were his baffling field placements which allowed the likes of Smith and David Warner to manipulate the bowlers’ lengths. At the slightest instance of the Australians showing intent, he spread the field in a bid to protect the boundaries.

What actually transpired was the batsmen piercing the gaps with precision and taking advantage of the open spaces on offer.

In his captaincy stint so far, Kohli has at times tried to follow the ball when runs began to flow. Such a tactic may inadvertently help the Aussie batsmen get into the groove. Tighter field placements (with special emphasis on plugging the gaps) might not allow them to take those quick ones and twos. As a result, pressure will start to build which could then induce mistakes.