As the Australian bowlers worked on adjustments to catch up Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, pacer Mitchell Johnson has been identified as the front man to prepare the ball to extract reverse-swing early in the game.
Johnson will be given the job to roughen up one side of the ball in rapid fashion, something essential if the ball has to reverse swing as dramatically as it has for Indian quick bowlers Zaheer and Ishant.
Australian pacers have experimented with bowling across the seam in the style of Zaheer and Ishant, but Johnson said he had been brought on for spells where the objective was to damage the ball as much as the batsmen.
"With my bowling technique at the moment I probably don't bowl too many cross seam deliveries anyway because I tend to hit the rough side with my wrist position," said Johnson, who took five wickets in Bangalore and three at Mohali.
"That's something we've tried to do, basically I might be brought on just to roughen up one side and bowl naturally."
The Aussies are also getting the reverse swing, no doubt, but only for a short period before the new ball is due while Zaheer and Ishant have managed it within the first 15 overs or so.
Despite the added responsibility and his team trailing 0-1 in the series, Johnson said he was under no pressure to perform.
"This trip the way I've gone about it is just to be confident and stop putting too much pressure on myself about bowling the perfect ball," Johnson said.
"I think in the West Indies I was feeling pressure, thinking too far ahead of myself and not going game by game.
"I've learnt to relax a little more, run in, hit the deck hard as I can and enjoy my cricket," he was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press.
