It requires a Herculean effort, especially after the thrashing at Vadodara, but the Indian team is confident of squaring the seven-match rubber against Australia, in which they currently trail 1-3.
"Why not? The boys are confident. They have come back from 0-2 down in England to level the series 3-3. We will go in with a positive intent and the boys are very confident," said cricket manager Lalchand Rajput on Friday, two days before the sixth ODI, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur, which is a do-or-die contest for the hosts.
"The boys will have the urge to do well playing at home," added Rajput, perhaps unaware that India have not beaten Australia in successive ODIs since March 2001.
The last time India beat Australia in successive ODIs was at Bangalore, in a bilateral series in March 2001, a victory that followed five months after their sensational upset of the World Cup champions in the ICC Champions Trophy quarter-finals, at Nairobi in October 2000, their previous clash.
Rajput conceded that the team was outplayed at Vadodara but insisted it was just a one-off thing.
"It was one bad day for us (at Vadodara where India lost by nine wickets after being shot out for 148). It was a fantastic new ball spell from the Australians (man of the match Mitchell Johnson who took a maiden five-wicket haul and Brett Lee)," he said.
"We lost two wickets in the first over, our top two batsmen, and could not take the initiative. Everybody knows we played badly," said the former India opener, referring to the dismissals of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
"Australia are the best team in the world and they have the best opening bowling combination. In India there's moisture in the first hour of the day. But they bowled very well and in the right areas", he said.
"Sachin (Tendulkar) batted very well but there was no one to support him after we had lost five wickets (for 43)," he pointed out.
Tendulkar scored a classy 47 before edging Lee to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist in the fast bowler's first over of his second spell.
Rajput felt that the key to the Indian batting clicking is a solid opening stand.
"Our main aim would be not to lose wickets in the first 10 overs. Whenever we have had a good opening partnership we have put up a good total," he said.
India's lone victory in the series, by eight runs at Chandigarh on October 8, their first over Australia in ODIs since January, 2004, came after openers Sachin Tendulkar (79) and Ganguly (41) had put on 91 for the first wicket.
Rajput vehemently said the lack of runs from batting mainstay Dravid is worrisome.
"I wouldn't say so. He's a great player, and needs just that one break (to go on to a big score). He got a good ball that day, first ball," the one-time Mumbai opening mainstay said.
The Bangalore stalwart, who stepped down from captaincy after leading India to a Test series triumph in England after 21 years, has scored only 50 runs in the four innings, with a best score of 33, in the current rubber and the scores include two ducks made at Hyderabad and Vadodara.
Incidentally, Dravid, who has scored over 10,550 runs, has not scored century in ODIs after his innings of 105 in the second ODI of the five-match series against the West Indies last year.
Though he did not have a close look at the wicket on Friday, Rajput expected it to be a good track, which is normal at the venue, and said the final team composition would be made after a closer look at it.
"I have seen it from a distance. But generally the Nagpur pitch is good. We will have a look at it tomorrow before deciding the team composition."
Contrary to the practice some years ago of the selectors deciding on the playing eleven, it's the team management's prerogative to do the job, added Rajput.
"The playing eleven will be decided by the team management, comprising the captain (Mahendra Singh Dhoni), vice-captain (Yuvraj Singh) and (cricket) manager in consultation with the selectors who are present at the venue," he explained.
