Steve Smith isn't too worried about mental disintegration, because India are starting to self-combust.
Australia will reclaim the Border-Gavaskar trophy if they win at the MCG, taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the four-Test series.
Smith dealt with the standard trimmings in his pre-match press conference - Christmas presents, opposition analysis and captaincy conundrums.
Smith talked up India's batsmen, revealed debutant Joe Burns will bat at No.6 and that fit-again paceman Ryan Harris will take Mitchell Starc's place in the XI for Boxing Day.
But sledging, an issue that has swirled in an oft-heated series that has already featured four misconduct fines, drew the most forthright response.
"Blokes like Davey like to say a fair bit. Everyone's different. I don't really say too much," Smith said.
"At the moment the Indians are doing that themselves.
"They're doing a lot of whingeing and complaining among themselves.
"They're doing it all for us. Hopefully that can hinder them this week."
Indian counterpart MS Dhoni refused to bite back.
"There haven't been any formal complaints from our side so far," Dhoni said, when told about Smith's comments.
"If I respond to that - it won't be an adequate response."
India were competitive in the opening two Tests, but drew widespread criticism for the way they unravelled - on and off the field - during day four at the Gabba.
Team management issued a statement condemning the state of the training pitches at the venue, blaming them for blows suffered by Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan before play.
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar suggested India should not make the incident "an excuse".
Gavaskar also opined the tourists should tone down their "verbal spats" in the series, but Dhoni confirmed that won't be happening.
"I feel a bit of chirping is good on the field," Dhoni said.
"That's what makes cricket interesting ... if the guidelines are followed, I'm not really bothered.
"The chirping has nothing to do with our performance."
Dhoni's words will be music to the ears of David Warner, who vowed on Christmas Eve his "banter" won't stop any time soon.
"I like to go at them, to try and get them to bite back at me when I go out there and bat. At the moment, it's working," Warner said.
Warner swapped barbs with India en route to a century in Adelaide after being bowled off a no-ball, while lippy fielders Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma fired up Mitchell Johnson in Brisbane.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood, who debuted at the Gabba, wasn't surprised with the level of chat on the field.
"It's similar (to Sheffield Shield cricket), it's just a bit harder to understand these guys," Hazlewood said.
"But it's what I expected and it got Mitch going, so it was handy."
Share
