With his 100th international ton continuing to elude him, Indian great Sachin Tendulkar remains a relaxed figure, according to his team-mate Rahul Dravid.
Tendulkar is aiming to notch his century of centuries during the third Test against Australia at the WACA Ground, starting on Friday.And although the little master has come close this series - posting scores of 73, 32, 41 and 80 - Dravid said the pressure wasn't getting to him.
"It's not spoken about much in the group at all - actually not at all," Dravid said.
"He's been pretty relaxed about it.
"He got 90 in Bombay and then I think he was 70 and 80 in the last two games, so obviously from his point of view, I'm sure he knows he's batting well enough to complete it.
"So I guess it'd be great if he can do it here for us.
"But I think the heartening thing for him in the back of his mind is that he's been batting beautifully over the last two or three games."
With plenty of pace and bounce predicted for the WACA wicket, Australia are still toying with the idea of unleashing four pacemen at the expense of spinner Nathan Lyon.
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting said he was pleased to hear the WACA was getting back to the characteristics that defined it in the 1970s and '80s.
"As Australian players growing up on fast and bouncy pitches, this is the fastest and bounciest wicket in the world and we should be able to adapt to these conditions a bit quicker than the Indians," Ponting said.
"We all enjoy playing here. The last few Tests we've played at the WACA, it's starting to get some of its old characteristics again.
"The pace and bounce are certainly coming back.
"One thing I've always been very protective of in Australia is the use of drop-in wickets.
"A lot of (state) associations have been under pressure to have drop-in wickets.
"As soon as you start getting drop-in wickets, then the characteristics of each ground are gone.
"The last thing you'd want to see at the WACA is to come and play cricket on a slow, dead, docile pitch. It's not what cricket is supposed to be like here in WA."
© SMH
© SMH
