Adversity can, on occasions, bring the best out of teams. Can India discover the fire within when confronted with fires that threaten to engulf it in the Commonwealth Bank ODI triangular series? Nothing has gone right for India from the time the side landed in Brisbane. Back-to-back setbacks at the ‘Gabba were followed by rumours of dissension in the side. Under the circumstances, India will seek a turnaround in fortunes at the SCG on Sunday when it meets Australia in a crucial game. Simply put, it is a perform or perish situation for the Men in Blue.

United team On a positive note, skipper M.S. Dhoni said here on Saturday that the side was united. In testing times, team-spirit is a priceless attribute. India, that has 10 points from six games, needs to beat Australia here and Sri Lanka at Hobart in its last two league matches to make sure of a place in the finals.

If India loses one game, then it has to win the other match with a bonus point and then pray for the result in the final league match — in Melbourne — to go its way. If Dhoni's men go down to Australia at the SCG, then they will have to outplay Sri Lanka with a bonus point and hope for Australia to defeat Sri Lanka in Melbourne to qualify.

And if India beats Australia with a bonus point but loses to Sri Lanka then it will need the island nation to beat the host in the last match. Head-to-head record and the number of bonus points take precedence over net run-rate. Rotation policy The Indians will do away with the rotation policy for the match. Provided they are fit, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir will occupy the first three slots.

The relationship between Tendulkar and the SCG has been a special one. It was here, in the first final of the 2008 triangular series, that Tendulkar, defying pain, notched up a match-winning century. Can he make the years fall away now? Sehwag needs to change his game plan — he has to play between extra-cover and widish mid-on initially — before launching into strokes to the others parts of the ground.

If the top-order holds firm and lays a platform, then the young middle-order could pull its weight. The surface for the Australia-Sri Lanka game here offered movement and carry to the pacemen. It remains to be seen if the pitch for Sunday's match is similar in nature. In a definite blow, pace spearhead Zaheer Khan will miss the game because of a calf injury. India could play swing bowler Praveen Kumar for Vinay Kumar, who is battling a hamstring injury. Praveen, if he gets the white ball to move around, can pick up wickets.

India needs to strike and someone like Umesh Yadav should be asked to go for wickets and not worry about conceding runs. An attacking mind-set can transform players and teams. Irfan Pathan, with his allround ability, has lent some balance to the side. Should he bat higher up the order? Spin pair Ravindra Jadeja and R. Ashwin are likely, for the moment, to combine as the spin pair. Ordinary against Australia so far, Ashwin will need to raise his game.

If the side believes it can do without Jadeja's batting — a call the team-management will have to take — then Rahul Sharma can be included. A leg-spinner — always an aggressive option — can tilt scales in a pressure game. And the big grounds down under have worked in favour of leg-spinners. The Indian bowling has been punished in the end overs and Dhoni will need to shuffle his bowlers around smartly. But there is only so much a captain can do.

Australia has its own worries. Its batting is dependent on conditions. If the ball moves around, then this line-up is suspect. The talented Peter Forrest's form has been a definite gain for Australia and the side would expect much from the return of Shane Watson. The big allrounder can dominate attacks while opening the innings and has the ability to send down effective toe-crushers in the end overs. Bowling at the death has been a major area of concern for the host.

Skipper Michael Clarke and the Hussey brothers will be a barrier for the Indian bowlers while the versatile Ben Hilfenhaus continues to torment the Indian batting. If Australia wins one of its last two games, it will make the finals. In case the side loses both matches, then it would need the result in the India-Sri Lanka game to go its way. Clarke would not want to leave it to that.

The teams (from): India: M.S. Dhoni (captain), V. Sehwag, S. Tendulkar, G. Gambhir, V. Kohli, S. Raina, R. Jadeja, I. Pathan, R. Ashwin, P. Kumar, Zaheer Khan, U. Yadav, Rahul Sharma, V. Kumar, Rohit Sharma, M. Tiwari, P. Patel. Australia: M. Clarke (captain), S. Watson (vice-captain), D. Warner, M. Wade, P. Forrest, M. Hussey, D. Hussey, B. Lee, B. Hilfenhaus, X. Doherty, R. Harris, C. McKay, D. Christian.