Momentum is with Australia - Lee

Like a couple of bickering school children, India say Australia were too defensive in the first Test and the visitors believe the home team didn't try to win from an enticing situation. As the teams battle for any advantage following the Bangalore draw, Brett Lee is in no doubt over who will enter Friday's second match in Mohali in the more confident mood.

Lee said before practice on Wednesday that the way India batted on the final day, chasing 299 in 83 overs, was revealing of their outlook and insisted Australia were the only ones trying for victory. "It appeared they didn't want to go after the total and were happy to have a draw," Lee said. "It shows we're playing in the right style of cricket that the Aussies want to play.

"There are a lot of things India can say - that they had a mental win - but we were very happy with the way we played. We can take a lot of positives from the way we played."

After the match, Zaheer Khan said he had never seen an Australian team that was so defensive, citing their restrictive field settings and slow batting in the second innings. Lee maintained his team was the most aggressive. "The way we look at it is they didn't take our 20 wickets either," he said. "So I'm not worried about that."

Australia's bowlers planned a meeting on Wednesday to discuss ways to improve their tactics and how to stay focused against the tailenders. The 80-run partnership between Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer in the first innings turned India's total from a wonky 232 for 7 into a useful 360 and was the point where Australia's dominant position slipped.

"As a whole bowling group we probably weren't patient enough [against the tail]," he said. "The wicket wasn't capable of getting the ball above shoulder height, so the whole scare tactic, the intimidation, wasn't playing a cause because the wicket was so dead.

"We have to make sure we have better plans. Sometimes the tail wags, it wagged when we were batting as well."

Australia have a concern over Stuart Clark's right elbow and he will not bowl until Thursday. The injury prevented him from throwing over-arm in the first Test and if he is ruled unfit, the left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger, who toured West Indies earlier in the year, and Victoria's Peter Siddle will be considered for a debut.

Lee recovered well from delivering 37 overs in Bangalore and was not concerned that he and Clark combined for only three wickets in the game. "I was really happy with the way the ball came out, I couldn't have asked for anything else," he said. "It would've been nice to look up at the scoreboard and see a three or four-for, but that's cricket.

"As the opening pair we just need to make sure we're creating as many chances as possible, and we did that, especially on the last morning. Provided we're doing that, then we're happy."

The lack of carry to the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has been a problem for Australia - he conceded 39 byes - and has resulted in the repositioning of the slips cordon. Catches behind the wicket are a staple dismissal in Australia, but they are rarer in India, especially with the visitors employing an at-the-stumps line.

"The hardest thing over here is you notice pretty much from the first couple of overs that the ball doesn't even carry through to the keeper," he said. "So you've got the keeper who might stand back 25 yards, and take the ball around chest or waist height, and all of a sudden the pace hasn't changed but the distance has. He might be at 15 yards and the reaction time's a lot quicker."

Closer slips mean the fielders have to work in a smaller area, reducing their impact. "The further you go back the more space you can cover, so that's one thing to be aware of as a bowler," he said. "The ball that might usually go to second slip might be actually going past second now because they're so close."

Lee also wants to make greater use of the new ball, which he has learned swings for a maximum of six overs. "You see how the Indians bowl, seam up the first two or three overs then they hold it across the seam, so it gets the ball roughed up and starts to reverse," he said. "It's one of those things which we have to make sure we understand the way it works over here."

While the main record expected to come out of the second Test is Sachin Tendulkar becoming the game's highest run-scorer, Lee will move into fourth place on Australia's list behind Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee with one more wicket. He currently sits alongside Craig McDermott with 291 victims in 69 matches.

"I never really thought I'd be encroaching on 300 Test wickets," he said. "To be level with the great Craig McDermott is something I'll always cherish. How many I'll get, time will tell. I've got to focus on looking forward to the next three, four, five years."