Whatever happened today, gives us confidence ahead of MCG Test – Rohit

While the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in a dull draw at the Gabba, India's skipper Rohit Sharma expressed confidence ahead of the MCG Test.

"Yeah, I have not batted well. There is no harm in accepting that," said Rohit at the post-match press conference. "But I know what's in my mind. How I am preparing myself. All those boxes are very much ticked. It's just about spending as much time as possible [batting].

"Which I am pretty sure I am just there. As long as my mind, my body, my feet are moving well. I am pretty happy with how things are panning out for me. Sometimes those numbers can tell you that it's been a while since he has got big runs. But for a person like me, I think it's all about how I feel in my mind. What kind of prep I am having before each game. And how I am feeling about myself. That's the most important thing."

"And I am feeling good about myself, to be honest. Yeah, runs are obviously not showing that. But inside it's a different feeling."

Rohit underlined the fighting mentality of his side and lauded the team's ability to soak up pressure.

"This thing has been, in our team for a while now, that we don't give up easily, whatever the situation. We want to keep fighting. Even when we bowled in the second innings, we had the same intensity that we wanted to bowl them out for 60-70 runs because we knew they would play their shots and look to score quickly. That gives you opportunities and we get some as well. But we didn't have enough time to chase 270-280 in 50 overs."

Australia's skipper Pat Cummins defended his team's top order, acknowledging the challenges they face.

"Everyone's always hoping to score more runs," Cummins said. "I think the trend in world cricket pretty much all around the world is the top three is a really hard place to bat at the moment. Particularly here in Australia, the wickets are tough. I think there's little snippets that have been important. Again, that first innings, Trav walks in 35 overs into the game, I think that makes a big difference, the same in Adelaide. Obviously, they [the top three] would be hoping to score more runs, we'd like them to score more runs, but I think they have made some important contributions that others have benefited from."

Cummins highlighted the importance of Travis Head's contributions and the team's batting order.

"The trend is, it seems like, five, six, seven is sometimes where a bulk of the runs are scored in Test cricket all around the world," Cummins said. "I spoke ahead of this summer when there was all the talk about batting orders, we didn't really want to move our five, six, seven – they've been so important to many of our wins over the last couple of years. We're not beholden to stats, we know there are certain roles, there are easier times to bat, harder times to bat, just like bowlers, so you are always looking at the best seven batters who will function as a unit and place them as best you can."