Steve Smith will tell Australia to learn from their Delhi mistakes and play at their own pace as they battle for pride in the third Test against India.

From 85-2 in their second innings last time out, Australia crumbled to 113 all out, and India rolled to a six-wicket win that allowed them to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The best Australia can do is draw the series, and stand-in captain Smith wants to see more resilience from the batters, including himself among those that fluffed their lines last time out.

In fact, he was the lowest scorer of all Australia's specialist batters last time out, with nought followed by nine, and Smith being pinned lbw by Ravichandran Ashwin when sweeping was the trigger for the tourists' implosion.

Smith said on Tuesday: "I don't think there's been too many times I've walked off the field and I've gone, 'What the hell am I doing?'."

He was left "bedazzled" and "pretty angry" with his own blunder, adding: "It wasn't my finest moment.

"We probably just rushed things a little bit, and it's something we'll talk about. We don't have to play at such a high tempo and risky tempo."

Smith, who says Australia must "learn to adapt a little bit better", has not managed a half-century in his last five Test innings in India, his longest such barren stretch in the country.

He has never gone six successive Test innings in any country without making at least a fifty, so he has one last chance to avoid this being the first time.

India's 2-0 series lead means they have won their last three men's Tests against Australia, having also tasted victory in Brisbane in January 2021. Their longest winning streak in Tests against Australia is four matches.

Australia are without regular skipper Pat Cummins, who has returned home for personal reasons, but Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc are poised to return from injury.

The tussle in Indore could see Virat Kohli become just the fifth man to reach 4,000 runs in Tests played in India, as he stands 77 runs short of that milestone.

India captain Rohit Sharma will aim to close out a series victory at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, and there is the tantalising prospect of these teams meeting again in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in June.

That is in the back of minds for now, but will come to the forefront soon enough, possibly if India secure the series before the fourth match at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.

The prospect of India asking for a green pitch for that game, rather than the spinner-friendly surfaces they have been playing on so far, has been teased already.

Rohit wants India to be smart about their preparation for a likely trip to London, and while they would not be able exactly replicate English conditions, a green pitch would at least to some extent simulate what likely awaits them.

The India skipper said it was "definitely a possibility", adding: "If we do what we do here and we get the result we want, we might kick off doing something different in Ahmedabad."

He pointed to India and Australia having plenty of prior experience of performing in England that could stand them in good stead.

"It's not going to be alien conditions as such for both teams," Rohit said, "so it will be a good contest between the teams, whoever the two teams are."