Onus on underperforming batters to salvage pride for India

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The highly-rated but underperforming batsmen will have to click to keep a jittery India afloat as the visitors go into the must-win third cricket Test against Australia here on Friday amid serious concerns about their ability to counter the pacy WACA track.

India's batting has come a cropper in the series so far with their famed batsmen collapsing like a house of cards in most of the innings they have played so far against an inexperienced but disciplined Australian bowling attack.

Down 0-2 in the series, the experienced Indian batsmen will have to come up with something special on possibly the fastest pitch in the planet at the WACA here if they want to salvage some pride battered by the two humiliating losses.

Not a century has yet been hit by any Indian batsman. Except for Sachin Tendulkar, who has been in imperious form in all the four innings he has played, no top order batsman has been among runs with average below 30s.

Tendulkar, who is just one short of his 100th international ton, has scored 226 runs in four innings at an average of 56.50.

Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag have just about hundred runs from two Tests. Gambhir, despite his 83 in the second innings at the SCG, has not touched the 100-run mark.

Laxman got 66 runs in one innings yet has only 71 runs from the tour. Like England it appears a collective failure of the batting unit. And, unlike England, even Dravid is struggling.

India, however, can take solace from the pages of history. Contrary to the reputations of its batsmen on faster pitches, India has always done well at the WACA. Indians won the 2007-08 Test even though Australia opted for four quicks in the match.