Hussey predicts India battle

Mike Hussey claims the first match of the best-of-three final could be crucial © Getty Images

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Australia batsman Mike Hussey is expecting a tough battle when his side meet India in the final of the Commonwealth Bank Series.

The best-of-three final gets under way in Sydney on Sunday, and Hussey is only too aware that both sides will be eager to steal a march over the opposition following recent controversies - notably the Harbhajan Singh affair and Matthew Hayden’s disparaging comments about Harbhajan this week.

"The cricket has been very competitive right throughout the whole summer - the Test matches, the one-dayers - and I expect this finals series to be no different," Hussey said.

"I know our guys are 100 per cent ready, focused and really looking forward to the challenge of playing India.

"I'm sure India would love to leave Australia on a winning note as well so I think all bodes well for a fantastic finals series."

Hussey believes that whichever team claims victory on Sunday will take a huge psychological edge into the rest of the series.

"Whoever can get the momentum, get the ascendancy in this one-day series has got to be a huge chance of taking the Commonwealth Bank Trophy," he said.

Australia are keen to atone for the defeat against Sri Lanka

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"So we're going to be going as hard as we possibly can. It'd be great to be 1-0 up going into Brisbane but, having said that, if we did happen to drop the first one we've still got another chance to win the series."

Australia have batted second only twice in the series, but on both occasions failed to chase down a target.

Hussey, however, is unfazed by that statistic, adding: “We've chased many, many times before.

“We chased down teams a lot in the World Cup, which is probably the highest pressurised games you can get in world cricket.

"We did it very well in the West Indies and I'm sure it'll be no different here in Australia."

The hosts went down to already-eliminated Sri Lanka in the final preliminary match in Melbourne on Friday and Hussey admitted that the players are trying to get that loss out of their system before Sunday’s match.

"We really want to put that game behind us," he said. "The conditions in Sydney and Melbourne are totally different so there's no point dwelling on that performance down there.

"We know we're playing well. We know we can put on a good performance."