Cricket-Struggling Hayden confident of turnaround in India

By N.Ananthanarayanan

NEW DELHI, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australia's struggling opener Matthew Hayden is confident his aggressive batting will finally come good in the third test against India starting on Wednesday.

Australia went 1-0 down after India defeated them by a record 320 runs in the second test in Mohali. The left-handed batsman has made just 42 runs in four innings, twice failing to score.

On Sunday, Hayden had extended time in the nets at the Ferozshah Kotla ground, having scored 0, 13, 0 and 29 so far in the series.

"It is a good opportunity to spend time in the middle," Hayden told reporters. "(It was) just spending extended time in the nets to replicate what I'm really looking forward to in the next 13 days."

Hayden, 36, vowed he would lead Australia's fightback in Delhi to end the debate about whether the team were on the decline.

"The expectation is very high on the Australian cricket team," he said. "I expect to play well in the two games.

"I've put in a lot of work in a month of being in India now (but) it hasn't quite paid off yet. I'm very confident at the way I'm playing.

"A little bit of rub of the green and I think a big score for Hayden is around the corner."