Oz eye elusive win on tour

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Margao, Oct. 23: With the rain lashing down in Goa, Australia skipper Michael Clarke had a prayer on his lip. A washout or a defeat in the third and final one-dayer means the Aussies will go home without a win under their belt on the Indian soil for the first time since their 1979-80 tour, something Clarke desperately wants to avoid.

Having gone down 0-2 in the Test series, Australia head into Sunday’s game looking to level the three-match series after losing the second, while the first one was rained out. “Tomorrow is an important game for us. All the boys would like to have a win and draw the series,” Clarke said.

“All are disappointed we did not win the other night (at Visakhapatam). I thought we played pretty well. All the guys are focused on tomorrow’s game,” Clarke said here on Saturday.

Clarke is also hoping that the rain will stay away. “Hopefully the sun comes out and we get a full game. The pitch looked really good but the ground was a little bit wet,” the Australian skipper pointed out.

“It’s been a tough tour results-wise, we haven’t really got the results we would like in the only one-day match and also in the Test series.” he said.

Clarke, who had a forgettable run in the Tests, found his touch with a century in the last game and hoped that his performance would rub off on the other youngsters.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to silence my critics,” Clarke said with a smile.

“Look, my performance in the Test series was not nearly as good as I would have liked, I was very disappointed with my own personal performance but it was very satisfying to make a hundred the other night,” Clarke said. “Hopefully I can repeat that tomorrow as well and the rest of the young also chip in with some useful contributions,” the right-hander said.