Last year, Australia found themselves 0-1 down after the first finals of the triangular series, and there was no way back as England closed them out in the second finals. This time around, it's India's turn to be up 1-0, and coach Tim Nielsen said it was the mental side, more than anything else, that Ricky Ponting's men had to address during Tuesday's second finals at the Gabba.

With the Aussies in an unfamiliar must-win situation, Nielsen urged his team to adopt an aggressive mindset, asking the players to sharpen their outlook after they slipped to successive one-day defeats for the first time since last year's Chappell-Hadlee series in New Zealand in February, before their all-conquering run at the World Cup.

"It's probably the mental side of the game that's let us down in the last couple of games," Nielsen said, referring to Friday's 13-run loss to Sri Lanka at the MCG and Sunday's six-wicket drubbing by India in Sydney. "We had a couple of situations at the SCG when we felt we were on top and then gave our wickets away, which then put us back under pressure. For us to have some success in this series, we have to make sure we take the game by the throat when we have the opportunity and don't give up that momentum."

"The biggest challenge for all of us is not to get too carried away with one loss," the coach pronounced. "We certainly had a chat last night and Ricky put it pretty clearly what he expected from the group, not just about playing cricket but the way we present ourselves and the way we go about our things. We want to make sure we're competing for 100 overs of the game."