Melbourne, Dec 28: After swinging either way for the first three days, the Boxing Day Test is now poised tantalisingly with Australia enjoying a 230-run lead in the second innings with two men standing.

With Michael Hussey looking solid on 79, the hosts will look to add a few more valuable runs to present India with a challenging target. Whether the visitors can register their first Test win at the MCG since 1981 will largely depend on how they counter the new ball.

Known to rise to the occasion, opener Virender Sehwag feels it’s still anyone’s game.

“I think anything less than 300 is a gettable target. The match presently is well balanced. Anyone who works hard tomorrow or on the next day can win,” he said at the end of Day 3.

“It is important for [the openers] to give the team a good start and if we manage to do that, we have a very good chance to win the Test,” Sehwag said, quickly adding that the rest of the batsmen would have to play an important part as well.

While Sehwag set up India’s first innings with a knock of 68, his opening partner Gautam Gambhir got out cheaply. Sehwag, however, shot back in defence of his mate saying, “That was just the first innings of a very long series”.

The Australian pacers, led by Ben Hilfenhaus, proved more than a handful for the famed Indian batting in the first essay as the visitors collapsed from 214 for three to 282 all out. And Sehwag feels the faster men will continue to be a threat as India set out on the chase. “There is seam movement with the new ball which will assist the pacers. So I think Australia will rely on their fast bowlers.”

But the dasher has found a way to maintain his staggeringly high rate of scoring nonetheless. “We’re good against spin bowling so we’ll definitely attack the spinners,” he said nonchalantly, adding, “I don’t think there will be much spin off the track.”

However, when it came to Indian spinner R Ashwin, Sehwag was all praise. “Throughout the day, Ashwin bowled really well, keeping things tight at one end.” The off-spinner bowled 19 overs for 44 runs in the second innings, and dismissed Nathan Lyon, the last wicket to fall on the day.

“This is the best Indian bowling attack I have played with. I think we bowled very well, it's up to the batsmen now,” he said.

When asked about falling to the inside edge, like a few others in the game, Sehwag explained, “The ball is not coming on to the bat nicely, it is stopping a bit. The batsmen are a bit early in their shots and hence the inside edges.”

However, the marauding opener has no complaints regarding the nature of the track. “The wicket has some help for the seamers, especially with the new ball. Even when it gets old, it offers some help to the bowlers. But I like playing on such a track rather than on the dead ones back home.”