India v/s Australia: We're ready to go, roars confident Steve Smith

You'd think a chair is a tool to rest, isn't it? But for the Australian cricket team, it was a tool to keep them on their toes.

Two plastics chairs were placed on either side of a batsman in practice games during Australia's preparatory camp in Dubai ahead of the Test series against India. One plastic chair was placed exactly where a short leg fielder would be in a Test match, while the other was placed in the silly point region.

Facing a spinner, should a ball loop off a batsman's bat or glove and hit the chair or even get close to it, the batsman would have to end his innings.

This 'caught by chair' was one of the many different things Australia tried out during their two-week camp in Dubai to best prepare themselves in countering the Indian spin threat when the four-match series begins in Pune from February 23.

It's ironic that the Australian team, which was marred by the infamous 'homework-gate' the last time they toured India, have left no stone unturned in doing their homework this time.

"The boys have been in Dubai for a while now, preparing on some good wickets and challenging themselves and finding game plans that can hopefully be successful here in India," Australia captain Steve Smith said here on Tuesday, a day after the Aussies arrived in the city.

"So, we have prepared very well and now we're here in India. We're ready to go," he added.

By the captain's own admission, Australia couldn't have asked for a better way to gear up for the arduous tour of India. A typical Day 4 or 5 wicket in India was prepared for them in some of their practice games at the ICC Academy in Dubai, where they got a taste of facing spin as well as bowling spin.

Steve Smith Captain of Team Australia

Obviously, this is going to be a difficult tour. And I'm excited by that challenge. I think all of the guys are really excited about what's to come in the next six weeks. It's a great challenge to play here in India, and we know that if we can pull something off and win a series here, we can look back in 10-20 years, and it will be some of the best times of our lives

And unlike the England team that came into the Indian tour with a collective batting and bowling plan, the Australian think-tank asked each player to formulate his own game plan in countering the Indian spinners.

Not just technically, but mentally as well.

"Bit of both," Smith said. "Batting in Test cricket is about making good decisions and doing that for long periods of time. We had some difficult conditions in Dubai where the balls were turning, there was some inconsistent bounce and things like that. So, the guys had to adapt to game plans and try and find the best way to have success here in India. The guys have worked hard to try and find out what works for them. Now it'll be about implementing them into the game and doing it for long periods of time," he added.

Thus, the otherwise flamboyant David Warner worked twice as hard on his defence. In his final net session in Dubai, the southpaw defended more balls than probably in his entire knock of 113 in Australia's last Test against Pakistan.

However, the Australians know it cannot be all defence or all attack, a mistake that led to their whitewash in their previous series in the sub-continent against Sri Lanka. It brought about the downfall of England as well in their recent series against the Indians, and the visitors are mindful of not repeating the error.

"You don't want people to change their natural games. I think it's always important to be positive and look to score. The moment you just start defending, you're in trouble. You have to have that mindset to look to score, but ultimately it's your defence that helps you out when you're in trouble. So, defence is going to be incredibly important in this series for us with the bat," Smith said.

The Australian captain knows that should his batsmen execute their plans well and get runs on the board, he has enough quality in his bowling armoury to trouble the mighty Indian batting line-up.

The attack is loaded with variation: left-arm quick (Mitchell Starc), right-arm fast (Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird), off-spinner (Nathan Lyon), left-arm spinners (Steve O'keefe and Ashton Agar) and a leg-spinner (Mitchell Swepson).

"I'm confident of our bowling attack. We've got a good mix of bowlers, guys that are working hard and learning to adapt to the way you need to bowl in these conditions. It's important here to make sure you're bowling consistent areas, letting the wicket do the work and getting the natural variation out of the wicket. And the guys have worked hard on that. I think we're in for a big series," Smith said.

Big series, indeed.