Australia have outclassed India in every department over the first three matches, only late-evening showers in Bangalore preventing them for stacking up an all-win record. 2-0 is an apt reflection of the quality of cricket paraded by the two teams. India have had their moments, but they have been few and far between. Collectively, Australia have had all the answers, and they have won not just more moments but also the key ones.

India must shed their inexplicably diffident ways of the last week at the Sector 16 stadium on Monday in game four to give themselves a realistic chance of at least sharing honours in what is effectively a six-match series now. There has been a strange hesitancy with the bat, an almost seeming lack of self-belief, and against a team as extraordinarily skilled and as quick to shove their way through an opening as Australia are, that is a certain recipe for disaster.

Ill-timed comments
It hasn't helped matters that a general sense of disquiet has been triggered by Dilip Vengsarkar's ill-timed and ill-advised comments about the need for the 'seniors' to keep performing, or make way for the younger lot. The seniors in question are Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, India's three latest international captains and three of their most prolific performers in recent times.

Public memory in India has forever been remarkably short. In the euphoria of the Twenty20 success, it might be overwhelmingly tempting to forget the contributions of the ageing trio, and we are not talking the last ten years or even the last season. Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly have been among the more consistent performers even in the last three months, and while the layman can be forgiven for losing track of that, one would expect the chairman of selectors to be a little more circumspect and a little less loose-tongued.

Savour these stats. In eleven matches since the tour of Bangladesh in May, Dravid has made 297 runs at 42.42.
Impressive reading

Tendulkar and Ganguly's figures make for even more impressive reading. Starting from the tour of Ireland in July, Tendulkar has stacked up 378 runs in eight games at 47.25, with four half-centuries inclusive of two 90s; Ganguly's numbers in that period are 322 runs at 46, also with four fifties. Thrice against England, Tendulkar and Ganguly were associated in century opening stands, and India won all of those matches. These men can't be excused the odd failure? They have to score every single time to keep the snapping pack at bay? You must be joking, Mr Chairman!

Especially against the Australians, you need the cool head that experience brings with it. India's young turks have quickly learnt to talk the talk and walk the walk. They have, however, found walking the talk a slightly more demanding proposition.

Tendulkar and Ganguly will most certainly reunite at the top of the batting tree on Monday, particularly with Gautam Gambhir picking up a groin strain at nets on Sunday morning and going off for an MRI scan. Gambhir made three half-centuries at the Twenty20 World Cup but has been less than impressive in this series, with scores of 4 not out, 7 and 6.

A relaid strip at the rarely-used Sector 16 stadium holds the promise of plenty of runs. India will again think long and hard about their composition, debating whether, with left-arm spinner Murali Kartik's inclusion in the squad, they will be better served by going back to the five-bowler formula adopted for the first two matches. Should Kartik make his first appearance in 20 months, Rohit Sharma should be the logical choice to make way, but in these days when youth is being given its due for youth's sake, don't necessarily bet on it!

Australia have far fewer problems -- as you would expect a team leading 2-0 -- to contend with. Only Brad Hodge's poor form will occupy their minds. Saying that, Australia have tried to make going out of the side almost as tough as getting into it. If they do indeed feel Hodge will be better off for a break, the in-form Brad Haddin will walk back in.

Having spent five full days in India, left-arm swing exponent Nathan Bracken will expect to take his place in the eleven, adding to India's batting headaches. The big boys have to fire. They must, really.

Teams (from):
Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Brad Hogg, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Nathan Bracken, Ben Hilfenhaus, James Hopes.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Kaarthick, Gautam Gambhir.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Suresh Shastri. Third umpire: GA Pratapkumar. Match referee: Chris Broad (England).