Ind vs Aus 6th ODI - Ponting Target Series Victory

Guwahati: It will be a litmus test for India's resilience as they take on Australia in the do-or-die sixth One-dayer on Sunday, fully aware that any slip-up in the game would allow the visitors to clinch the series.

With the seven-match series tantalisingly poised 2-3 in favour of the visitors, India has no other option but to win both Sunday's and the last rubber in Mumbai against the spirited but depleted Australia if they desire to stamp their authority in world cricket.

However, the task won't be a cake walk for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men as there will be immense pressure on them.

To add to that even though Australia are a depleted lot after losing more than half of their regular players to injuries, the visitors' confidence are on a high, especially after pulling two narrow wins with a second string bowling attack.

Indian skipper Dhoni begs to differ that there will be additional pressure on his men in Sunday's must-win match.

"There is pressure in every game. At this level, there will always be pressure," he said.

But the factors which would worrying Dhoni ahead of the encounter is the team's bowling department and the lower order's inability to finish things off.

The Indian pace attack lacked sting as Australian batsmen made merry against the ordinary bowling to pile up a mammoth 350/4 in the last match.

Pace trio of Ashish Nehra, who impressed in the earlier matches, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel, who replaced out-of-form Ishant Sharma, went for runs in the placid batting friendly wicket of Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi stadium.

Even left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who shone with the ball in the series, failed to make his mark in the game. However, one heartening thing for Dhoni was spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh's return to form.

If the loopholes in the bowling department were not enough, the inconsistency of the batsmen is another problem Dhoni has to take care of.

Chasing an imposing 351 for victory, India, riding on Sachin Tendulkar's breathtaking 141-ball 175 run knock, very nearly pulled off a sensational win in Hyderabad.

But what did them in was the lack of support for Tendulkar from the other end and the tailenders inability to finish things off in two successive matches. And Dhoni would be hoping that his team would be third time lucky on Sunday.

Teams

India: With Munaf turning out to be a disappointment, Ishant is likely to return to the playing eleven for the day affair, while the rest of the side is expected to remain the same even though a few eyebrow's were raised on Virender Sehwag availability after he didn't turn out for practice this morning.

Squad (likely): Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja / Virat Kohli, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma/Sudeep Tyagi, Ashish Nehra.

Australia: Victorian all-rounder Andrew McDonald, replacement for Henriques and New South Wales pacer Burt Cokley (for Peter Siddle) have joined the Australian squad for the remainder of the series.

Squad (likely): Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting (capt), Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Adam Voges, Graham Manou (wk), Andrew McDonald, 9 Nathan Hauritz, Clint McKay, Doug Bollinger.

Pitch and conditions
The wicket is a sporting one and the team batting first is likely to score more than 300 runs. Matches in the north-eastern city of Guwahati start earlier than other centres in the country, what with the sun setting as early as 5 pm, and the initial dew is conducive for the faster bowlers.

Stats and trivia

• The best bowling figures at the Nehru Stadium belong to Robin Singh, who took 5 for 22 here in 1997.
• Sachin Tendulkar need just five to completed 3000 runs against any Country
• Tendulkar more than doubled his run tally with his 175 and now sits just behind Michael Hussey with 265 for the series.
• After starting the series with two poor matches with the ball, Shane Watson is now the highest wicket-taker with eight at 24.12.

Match facts
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Start time: 08:30 local, 03:00 GMT

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