Dravid - 'Tendulkar is in great touch'

Rahul Dravid has spoken up for Sachin Tendulkar, who is battling with a run of low scores. Speaking to the media ahead of India's Boxing Day Test against Australia, at Melbourne, Dravid said: "A lot has been said unnecessarily about his form - we believe he's in great touch and hitting the ball really well." Tendulkar's poor run of form in Tests in 2003 has yielded just 109 runs from 15 innings at an average of less than 16.

"We're looking out for a big score from him here," said Dravid. "Having said that, it's not just about Sachin, we don't want to put any additional pressure on him. We want him just to go out there and enjoy his cricket, play like we know he can play.

"I'm confident Australia has not seen the best of him ... you can see he's really keen to make a big one," said Dravid, who helped himself to a big score in the second Test at Adelaide, racking up a magnificent 233.

On an unrelated note, Dravid also looked forward to having the services of Zaheer Khan for the next Test. "We're very hopeful and confident he'll make it."

Meanwhile, Sandy Gordon, the sports psychologist who has worked with the Indian team from time to time, singled out patience and determination as the two virtues that helped India beat Australia. "The key to their win was patience and discipline. At the team level it was outstanding," he said. "Now they need a big effort to sustain it for the next 15 days. They got to do it session by session. They have to get around doing the same again and again, to apply the process of Adelaide."

Gordon also spoke highly of Dravid's mental ability. "The discipline and patience of Dravid has been exemplary. He has shown a wonderful temperament, an unflappable and even personality," he said. "I am glad he has been able to imbibe the lessons so well. For example, he has been able to switch on when the delivery is to be bowled, switch down when he negotiates it, and switch off after he has dealt with it."

Gordon is expected to work with the Indian team before the final Test at Sydney.