06 November, 2009
The Australians will travel to Guwahati on Friday, the venue for Sunday's sixth and perhaps decisive ODI against India, in a buoyant mood following Thursday's dramatic win in Hyderabad.
That they were able to hold their nerve to prevail by three runs in a classic shootout after conceding 175 to Sachin Tendulkar - the third-highest score in a ODI by a player in a losing team - will give the Aussies tremendous confidence.
The tourists may be coming apart at the seams but, as Indian captain M.S. Dhoni conceded after the match, they were mentally tougher when the result was on the line.
One bonus from Thursday night's result, which put Australia 3-2 up in the series, is that everyone seems to have come through unscathed.
Down to the bare bones in terms of fit personnel, the squad will be boosted by the arrival of New South Wales quick Burt Cockley and Bushrangers all-rounder Andrew McDonald, drafted to replace the latest of a long list of repatriates, Moises Henriques and Peter Siddle.
Another bonus was the eye-catching debut of Victorian paceman Clinton McKay - himself a late inclusion for Brett Lee - and a maiden ODI century from Shaun Marsh.
Marsh's run-a-ball 112 provided the perfect foil for Shane Watson whose 93 set the tone for Australia's charge to 4-350 from its 50 overs, while McKay's haul of 3-59 included the priceless scalps of Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni and Tendulkar.
Of the hundreds of one-day matches the big Bushranger will contest during his career, this one, surely, will rank right at the top.
McKay's effort came as no surprise to his state coach, Greg Shipperd.
"I think he had the bowling figures, if you like, in terms of the people he got out compared to Watson whose figures on paper were statistically better," said Shipperd.
"It just shows that people waiting for their opportunity to play for Australia have got the wherewithal to do a very good job."
How ironic and yet fortunate for Australia it is that Watson, who's had more injuries than Tendulkar's scored ODI hundreds, has stood up in this series while so many of his team-mates have fallen by the wayside.
The 28-year-old backed up his dynamic hand with the bat which included nine fours and three sixes by snaring 3-47 with the ball - an all-round performance that, on any other occasion, would have guaranteed the award for player of the match.
In light of their tight and testing schedule, the Australians will enjoy a rest day on Saturday with a recovery session the only commitment on their agenda ahead of Sunday's match which starts at 8.30am local time.
Australia and India have never met in Guwahati.
Australia's only previous matches at the at the 25,000 capacity Nehru Stadium were an eight-wicket loss to South Africa in a Titan Cup clash in 1996, and a 44-run TVS Cup win over New Zealand in 2003.
Sunday's fixture is the second of two daytime matches in this series.
It was in this corresponding sixth match on Australia's last ODI series in India in 2007 that the tourists were able to secure a series win.
Being able to do the same again on Sunday will be their solitary goal, for it will relieve them of the pressure of taking on the hosts in Mumbai on Wednesday with the series still alive.