After two days away from cricket, India geared up for Sunday's first finals of the tri-series against Australia with a lengthy and meaningful practice session at the SCG on Friday evening.

India will be well rested and as fresh as possible, given a schedule of this nature, when Sunday dawns; by contrast, Australia will have to shake off the aftereffects of Friday's defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankans at the MCG in an admittedly inconsequential tie, of a mid-morning flight on Saturday from Melbourne to here, and of the fall-out of the Matthew Hayden reprimand that has not gone down well with the team.

As if incidents of the last couple of months weren't enough, Hayden's extraordinary outburst has set the stage for needle finals. The Indians, however, are determined not to stoke the fire, desisting from making any inflammatory comments. "Sledging is not my job, we have been concentrating on the game," young middle-order bat Rohit Sharma told newsmen. "We are not focussing on the unpleasant incidents off the field, we are focussing on the finals. I am here to play cricket, and that is what I ask my seniors advice for."

Positive attitiude

The 20-year-old has made the number four position his own in the one-day side, though returns of 167 runs from eight innings don't really do justice to his ability. "It's a disappointment that I am doing well only in patches," the Mumbaikar conceded. "I need to convert good starts into big scores. I am trying to stay focussed and positive. I am confident enough ahead of the finals. It would be good if we can start very well. I wish to continue what I've been doing."

Aware of the importance of delivering Down Under, Rohit observed, "Australia is a place where if you perform well, you are noticed. It serves as a platform for your career. I feel all the youngsters doing well here have a great career ahead of them. When I started my career, in the gully, I never was intimidated by the opposition. Playing for India, I have never thought about a Brett Lee or a Shoaib Akhtar bowling to me. I just play the ball on its merit."

The team, Rohit added, was itching to get back on the park, and was aware that it had work ahead of it in the title round. "Everyone is geared up for the final, we are looking forward to it. Australia have won two matches against us, but that is past and we need to look ahead. The knock I played against Australia in Melbourne was a pointer to the importance of building partnerships in the middle," Rohit said of his undefeated 58-run association with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni that pushed India past the winning post. "Even though we were chasing only 160, we had lost quick wickets then and were under pressure."

Rohit was in the under-19 squad that lost to Pakistan in the World Cup final two years back. He is hoping his successors manage in Kuala Lumpur this weekend what the Class of 2006 couldn't. "The last time we played the under-19 World Cup finals, we had lost. If these guys can win it on Sunday, it will be great for our country."