Taylor confident

Armed with the knowledge that it has been 28 years since an Aussie team last returned triumphant from India, Taylor remarked that his side has something to prove out here.

To drive home the point, the 33-year-old skipper indicated to the presence of Shane Warne who he said would fill the breach created by the absence of strike bowler Glenn McGrath.

Taylor was candid in his admission that his side was "soundly beaten" in the one-off Test played in Delhi in November 1996. He, however, sounded awarning, saying his side was better prepared this time if they got similar wickets.

"Warne will give our spin attack much more experience than we had atDelhi," he said. Taylor played down Warne’s shoulder injury, saying, "nobody in international cricket is 100 per cent fit these days. He has got a few niggling injuries, but he is fit enough to do the job. He has had a two-week rest period and is now looking forward to doing a lot of bowling."

Terming it as one of his most challenging tours as captain, Taylor hoped to get good tracks to play on. "I am sure the cricketing public here would like to see some good cricket. If there are good wickets, there will be good games to watch."

Taylor emphatically denied that his team was not on the back foot when pointed out to the absence of fast bowlers McGrath and Jason Gillespie. "Both have been excellent strike bowlers in recent past. Michael Kasprowicz is an improving fast bowler and Paul Reiffel has been around for number of years. Besides, we have got a couple of new guys in Paul Wilson and Adam Dale. We would not be suffering from lack of pace and we are not on the back foot by any chance," heexplained.

Commenting on his opponents, Taylor said, "They are a very tough side who obviously know the conditions very well. They enjoy great crowd support and are a much bigger proposition here. …And that is the challenge for us."