“We knew we had a little of advantage coming here in that we knew more about their strengths and weaknesses than about some of the younger guys,” the Australian captain said on the eve of the fourth one-dayer. “The way we have got Sachin and Rahul out is the way we wanted to get them out, and the way we have got them out in the past. But we know they are quality players and can be absolute match-winners on their day. We don't want to let them off the hook. We have got to expect these guys to come good and play well at some stage, and if that happens, we will be prepared for that.”

Ponting reaffirmed his views on what aggression means to him. “It seems as though their aggression is more directed at body language and staring and adding a few words,” he observed. “Aggressive cricket is being able to play aggressively when you are under pressure. When we are under pressure, we try and play the same kind of cricket, back ourselves and our skills. That is what positive, aggressive cricket is all about. What you say on the field doesn't count for anything. That doesn't win you games of cricket.”

Ponting made no bones about the fact that he would like to bat first if he won the toss. “The track looks pretty drier, and I suspect it will get drier and play slower and lower as they game goes on. I have not played here, I don't know the history of the pitch but I imagine if you win the toss, you will bat first.”

All but ruling out batting changes, he went on, “The batting looks pretty stable. We had a tough call to make a couple of days back to leave Haddin out after he had played very well in the first two games. But Hodge has built up a record over a couple of years. I watched him closely at nets today, and he trained pretty well.

“As for Nathan Bracken, looking at his previous record, he is one of the top-ranked one-day bowlers in the world. If the rest of the guys pull up fine, we have to make a tough decision to take one of the guys who has been playing out to bring Bracken in.”

Ponting ruled out using this series to avenge the Twenty20 semifinal loss. “None of what we are doing here has anything to do with Twenty20. We weren't happy to go out of the semis, but we were not good enough. We wanted to prove to everyone and to ourselves that we are still a very good cricket team.”