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'The focus is more on recovery'
A day after suffering a disappointing defeat at Mohali, it was business as usual for the Australian team on Thursday.
The team arrived early for what it termed as an "optional session" ahead of the second test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here.
"The focus is more on recovery," explained Michael Hussey, adding the players weren't being forced to take the field.
"We just want to get used to the conditions here in Bangalore," he added.
The southpaw admitted his team-mates were dejected following the Mohali defeat.
"It is better to be on the winning side in an amazing Test (like the one in Mohali) than being part of the losing side," explained Hussey, adding, "We had won against England at Adelaide in a similar situation a few years back.
"But in Mohali we finished second best. Our dressing room was very quiet after the match got over."
'I know a big score is round the corner'
Hussey refused to dwell on what went wrong, focusing instead on the positives.
"We were in a winning position but couldn't finish it," he admitted, adding, "But on the positive side, we did a lot of things well." The batsman, who made 17 and 28 in the two innings in Mohali, was also hopeful as regards his own form.
"I am getting the starts but haven't been able to convert them," said Hussey. "But I know there's a big score round the corner," he added.
One thing that was noticeable about the Australian batsmen in Mohali was their reluctance to play the sweep, a shot that guarantees the maximum return off a spin bowler. Hussey, however, defended the strategy.
"In Mohali it was dangerous to play across the line," he explained, adding, "In the first innings the ball wasn't spinning at all and in the second, it spun a lot.
"In both case, playing a sweep shot would have been detrimental."
'We need to win and square the series'
"In any case all players in our side play spin differently and they have succeeded in doing so in their respective ways." With the Test at Bangalore being the last ahead of the Ashes, it assumes greater significance for the Australian players.
"Every Test is big. This one is the last we play before the Ashes," said Hussey.
"But we aren't thinking about the Ashes as yet," he added, before going of to elucidate his point.
"We are 0-1 down against India (in India) and we need to win and square the series," he said, adding, "If we play with the same intensity as we did in Mohali, I see no reason why we can't."