India can be dangerous, says Ponting

“But this is where India can be at their most dangerous as well. They have nothing to lose. They can come out and just enjoy the game without probably a lot of pressure on them. That’s when most teams can be pretty dangerous. We are aware of that and we will have to make sure we start the game well tomorrow,” Ponting said on the match eve.

Ponting said though the tourists had put up their best show in the previous game they cannot afford to get carried away.

“It’s a venue where we have played a couple of games. One was a pretty good Test win (2004-05), which clinched the series. It’s a big game for us tomorrow. If we win, we clinch the series,” he said.

“The last performance was the best part of our series so far. It was a very comprehensive win. But we can’t get carried away. We are working very hard. We will go out there and try to improve and play and brand of cricket that we know we are capable of,” he said.

Ponting said there was some doubt regarding the fitness of opener Matthew Hayden and he will undergo a fitness test a few hours before the match.

“Maddie has done a little bit of work at the ground. He was a bit sore coming to the ground. He’s improved dramatically over the last couple of days. He has not done any batting today. He did a little bit of walking and jogging along the boundary line. We’re going to give him time till tomorrow morning. If he’s fit he will play and if he is not then Brad Haddin would be brought in to play,” Ponting said.

Hayden strained his hip while going for the second run during the team’s thumping win at Vadodara and batted for a runner before getting out for 29.

Ponting said there won’t be a change in the team unless Hayden fails the fitness test on Sunday morning.

“The balance of our team is pretty good. With Mitchell Johnson bowling the way he did in the last game and Brett Lee bowling the way he has done through the series there’s no way that we can get any of the other fast bowlers into the team. The batting line-up has been doing a pretty good job as well. We are happy with the balance and push forward with the same eleven if Hayden is fit,” the Tasmanian said.

Ponting said one of the strengths of his team was the ability to play well in different corners of the world.

“One of our strengths is the ability to play well in different conditions all around the world, whether it’s South Africa, England, Sri Lanka or India our ODI form has been pretty good. That’s probably one of the areas where we have the edge over most teams,” he said.