Oz team morale is high: Coach

Hyderabad: Australian coach Mickey Arthur exuded confidence that his team will bounce back from the 0-2 deficit to level the ongoing four-match Test series against India. Talking to media at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium after the Australian team practiced for over three hours here on Wednesday, he said that the team's morale was high despite the abject surrender, twice over. "Our team is known for its combative fighting spirit. The boys appear to be in good spirits," he said. Arthur felt that their batsmen should have shown more intent about hanging on in the middle. "I think Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara played well. I told our batsmen to watch their innings, learn and make suitable amends. The Indian duo scored only few runs. They also demonstrated that after some cautious batting, runs would come about quite naturally. That is precisely how the Indian script went," he said. Arthur said that this tour will benefit his youngsters, for it was more of a learning exercise. "There are about eight youngsters in the team who are touring for the first time. This will help them and gives a huge advantage. When they come here next time, they will be that much better players." He said that the pitches in India and in Australia were like South and North Poles with their extreme oddities. "They are completely different. That is why it becomes so difficult for us to bat on these conditions and vice versa." Talking about the next two Tests, "We have lot of time for the third Test. It is a good break for the boys. We will decide on the team composition after assessing all possibilities. Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja are also in the reckoning."