Down under it'll be a battle between Indian batsmen and Oz bowlers

Hobart, November 21 (UNI) After suffering a series loss against Australia in the two-match test series, Sri Lanka captain, Mahela Jayawardene asked the Indian team to get ready to face the music 'Down-under.' He said the result of the Indian tour will be decided on how well the star studded Indian batting line-up face the Australian bowling attack. The Lankan captain predicted that the Indian batsmen, will have to work hard against and be ready for the challenge.

He said, ''The Indians have always competed well against the Australians. Their strength would be their batting, and that is an area they will definitely bank on." ''This Australian attack will be a tough challenge for the top seven Indian batsmen. That's where I think the series will be won or lost," he added.

India will play a three match test series against arch rivals Pakistan, the first match of which will begin tomorrow in Delhi following which they will fly away to Australia to take on Ricky Ponting's men in their own backyard.

India's first encounter with Autralia will be at Melbourne on December 26. Apart from the test series, India will also play a Twenty20 match and a triangular one day series with Sri Lanka being the third team.

Commenting on his own team's performance, the Lankan captain seemed disappointed on the 0-2 loss against Aussies.

''We had a bit more to offer than this as a team. We had a lot of talented guys in the group and unfortunately we couldn't get all that talent together in a couple of games.

That was the most disappointing factor for us.'' UNI