Australia captain Tim Paine urged his batsmen to show a little more courage when out in the middle given that the team’s scoring rate has been a concern in this Test series.

Paine admitted that the batsmen have allowed the Indian bowlers to dictate terms in the first two Tests. Australia are yet to cross 200 in this series.

“We’ve spoken about mindset. We think we’ve actually got some decent plans and it’s just a matter of going out and having the courage to execute them,” Paine said during a virtual conference on the eve of the third Test in Sydney, which will be broadcast on Sony Six and Sony Ten channels.

“If you want to take them (India’s bowlers) on and hit over the top or if you want to sweep or reverse sweep spinners, you are encouraged to do that, have the courage to take the game on and play the way you want to.

“There have been times when we have let them dictate us a little bit, let them build pressure which then leads to wickets. We need to be clear in our plans and have the courage to execute them.”

David Warner’s return at the top of the order does provide some much-needed oxygen to the struggling Australian batting line-up, the skipper acknowledged. “If David gets in and gets away, that puts pressure back on the opposition straightaway.

“Regardless of whom we are playing, we are a better team when David is in that side in terms of the runs he scores or the energy he brings into the group. He also protects our middle order a bit with Marnus (Labuschagne) and Steve (Smith) coming in or other guys when opposition bowlers are a bit tired.

“That way it’s an advantage. So David has got a huge role to play for us,” Paine emphasised.

Warner has 7,244 runs from 84 Tests at an average of a shade under 49. The left-handed opener has an average of 49.50 in the eight Tests that he has played against India at home, the last of which came in the 2014-15 series.

Indicating that the promising Will Pucovski stands a fair chance of making his Test debut on Thursday, Paine said the youngster, if selected, would open with Warner. He also pressed home the point that Pucovski plays short-pitched stuff well enough irrespective of the concussions that he has suffered so far.

“There won’t be any anxiety as far as I’m concerned. But it will be around for anyone who’s playing his first Test. Yeah, Will has been hit on the head a few times, but he plays the short ball really well.

“So as long as he’s comfortable, we are comfortable as well. He is good to go and that’s (his history of concussions) not a concern for him,” Paine asserted.