India vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that the side will go into the Boxing Day Test against Australia short of match practice as just one warm-up game before the four-Test series is not enough to get acclimatised with the conditions in Australia.
"It's always better to have a few sessions before a big Test match [and] we don't really have much time for practice," Dhoni was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The Indian team arrived in Melbourne on Thursday and started their only warm-up match against Victoria on Thursday. Dhoni felt the three-day game is just not enough considering that rain was threatening to play spoilsport.
"You'd love to have more time, but that's too many ifs and buts. If it rains there's nothing that can be done about it -- we'll go to the indoors and have a knock, do whatever we can."
"Getting used to the conditions is very important, so the practice game is important, especially when you're coming from a series in India," he said.
The swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batsman also said that the bouncy tracks in Australia are a difficult challenge for the visiting bowlers.
"When you're playing in Australia, the length you're bowling is very important, very different to where you bowl in the sub-continent or England," he said.
India play their opening Test of the four-match series from December 26.
