JL's tip for batters amid record low

Justin Langer has preached the good word of Allan Border as Australia's Test side looks to reverse a trend that has seen them plummet to their worst streak of batting performances in 34 years.

The huge challenge facing Langer's men in their bid to come from behind to beat India 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 team failed so consistently to put up competitive totals.

For the 1984 crop, all but one of those innings came against an imposing West Indian side boasting superstars such as Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner.

Usman Khawaja's epic 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," he 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."

Domain Test Series v India

Dec 6-10: First Test, Adelaide Oval, India won by 31 runs

Dec 14-18: Second Test, Perth Stadium

Dec 26-30: Third Test, MCG

Jan 3-7: Fourth Test, SCG

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c, wk), Josh Hazlewood (vc), Mitch Marsh (vc), Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Chris Tremain

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Ravi Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar