"We certainly have our work cut out," the Australian coach conceded on Friday evening. "It all goes back to our under-par performance in the first innings. We were very pleased at having got India out for 330, but being bowled out for 212, the pressure was right back on us. I am delighted we got them out for a manageable total today, but when you add up the first-innings lead, it becomes huge."
Nielsen said he hadn't been surprised at India's performance. "India have shown throughout that they are a competitive unit. We are 2-0 up but it has not been a walk in the park. It has been a very tough series. In the first innings, they bowled very well and used the conditions well. The two left-armers swung the ball away from the left-handers, and we have three left-handers in the top four. Young Sharma did an excellent job. Our first innings was a mix of very good bowling and some not so good batting."
Seeking to draw positives going into day four, Nielsen observed, "The good thing is the wicket's still in pretty good shape, the outfield's fast and we've seen that if batsmen get in, they find it easier to score. If we play well enough, we'll give ourselves the chance to chase down a really big total and get the record we're looking for.
We're a long way behind so it's going to be a big effort to set up a platform. We need a couple of guys to be able to get big hundreds for us tomorrow and set up the group.
"Chasing 400 has not happened very often. But it is an achievable result. We need to break it down, hour by hour, partnership by partnership. At the back of the mind will be the fact that if we get there, it will be pretty special. That will be enough to fire the team up and motivate them, knowing that the record 17th win can be achieved with a record chase."
Australia's highest successful run chase ever is 404 for three against England at Leeds in 1948. In Australia, their highest chase is 369 for seven against Pakistan in Hobart in 1999, and their best at Perth is 342 for eight against India in 1977. Game on, surely!
