It will be a litmus test for India's resilience as they take on Australia in the do-or-die sixth ODI in Guwahati on Sunday.

Any slip-up in the game would allow the visitors to clinch the series. With the seven-match series tantalisingly poised 2-3 in favour of the visitors, India has no other option but to win both Sunday's and the last rubber in Mumbai against the spirited but depleted Australia if they desire to stamp their authority in world cricket.

However, the task won't be a cake walk for Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men as there will be immense pressure on them.

To add to that even though Australia are a depleted lot after losing more than half of their regular players to injuries, the visitors' confidence is on a high, especially after pulling two narrow wins with a second-string bowling attack.

Indian skipper Dhoni begs to differ that there will be additional pressure on his men in the must-win match.

"There is pressure in every game. At this level, there will always be pressure," he said.

But the factors which would worry Dhoni ahead of the encounter is the team's bowling department and the lower order's inability to finish things off.

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The Indian pace attack lacked sting as Australian batsmen made merry against the ordinary bowling to pile up a mammoth 350 for four in the last match.

Pace trio of Ashish Nehra, who impressed in the earlier matches, Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel, who replaced out-of-form Ishant Sharma, went for runs in the placid batting-friendly wicket of Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi stadium.

Even left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who shone with the ball in the series, failed to make his mark in the game.

However, one heartening thing for Dhoni was spin spearhead Harbhajan Singh's return to form.

If the loopholes in the bowling department were not enough, the inconsistency of the batsmen is another problem Dhoni has to take care of.

Chasing an imposing 351 for victory, India, riding on Sachin Tendulkar's breathtaking 141-ball 175, very nearly pulled off a sensational win in Hyderabad.

But what did them in was the lack of support for Tendulkar from the other end and the tailenders' inability to finish things off in two successive matches. And Dhoni would be hoping that his team would be third-time lucky.

With Munaf turning out to be a disappointment, Ishant is likely to return to the playing eleven for the day affair, while the rest of the side is expected to remain the same even though a few eyebrows were raised on Virender Sehwag's availaibility after he didn't turn out for practice this morning.

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However, team management was quick to clarify that there was nothing wrong with Sehwag and the Delhi dasher opted out from practice as it was an optional session.

Dhoni's counterpart Ricky Ponting, on the other hand, would be a relieved man as his depleted team had turned the table despite being 1-2 down in the series.

Even though they are without their first choice side, after Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Callum Ferguson, Nathan Bracken (ruled out before the series) and Brett Lee, James Hopes, Tim Paine, Peter Siddle, Moises Henriques (sustained injuries in the middle of the series), Australia showed great character to be in the driver's seat.

And skipper Ponting was quick to nod the fact.

"Considering the big injury list on this tour and the couple of our better players who didn't make the tour, I think it's remarkable," Ponting said.

"When you take all those things into consideration, the way we are continuing to improve our cricket is fantastic," he said.

Victorian allrounder Andrew McDonald, replacement for Henriques and New South Wales pacer Burt Cokley (for Peter Siddle) have joined the Australian squad for the remainder of the series.

Interestingly, unlike the wickets in Mohali and Hyderabad, the Nehru Stadium strip is unpredictable as ODI cricket is returning to the city after two years -- the scheduled India-England ODI last year in November was cancelled due to 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

To add to that the wicket does not boast of an impressive batting record with only two from the 13 matches played so far recording scores beyond 300 run mark.

Teams (from):

Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Jon Holland, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Clint McKay, Andrew McDonald, Burt Cokley.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Sudeep Tyagi, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja.

Approaching Milestones:
 
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni (33) needs two dismissals to overtake Kumar Sangakkara's tally of 34 in 2009.
 
- Shane Watson (964) requires 36 more to complete 1,000 runs in 2009.
 
- Tendulkar (29951) needs 49 runs to become the first player ever to complete 30,000 runs in international cricket.
 
- Dhoni (198 - 149 catches + 2 stumpings) requires two dismissals to become the first Indian wicketkeeper to complete 200 dismissals in ODIs.
 
- Tendulkar (2995 vs Australia) needs five runs to become the first batsman to complete 3,000 against an opponent.
 
- Dhoni (995) requires five runs to become the first Indian player to complete 1,000 runs in ODIs in 2009.

ODIs at Guwahati:
 
India played: 8, Won: 5, Lost: 3
Winning %: 62.50
 
Of the last 5 ODIs at this venue, India have won four - two against Zimbabwe, one each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
 
Australia played: 2, Won: 1 (vs New Zealand), Lost: 1 (vs South Africa)
Winning %: 50.00
 
Centurions:
 
159 by Dinesh Mongia (India) vs Zimbabwe, 19.3.2002
111 by Carl Hooper (West Indies) vs New Zealand, 1.11.1994
 
Leading run-getter:
 
163 (avg 163.00) in two matches - Michael Bevan (Aus.)
 
Leading wicket-taker:
 
7 (avg 11.50) in three matches - Ravi Shastri (India)
 
Best bowling in an innings:
 
5/22 by Robin Singh (India) vs Sri Lanka, 22.12.1997