Sydney, Oct.23 : The Indian cricket team that will tour Australia in December and January can expect to face a tough time from their opponents and the crowd, said Australian skipper Ricky Ponting.

Addressing a news conference here soon after the team's arrival from Mumbai, Ponting said Indian players had adopted a more confrontational attitude, and therefore, should expect to be paid back in the same coin.

A string of visiting teams and players have realised that maintaining the intensity during a long summer tour can be quite a challenge.

"They (the Indians) made it pretty clear right at the start of the series they were going to fight fire with fire, but for us, we know that's generally not the way they play their cricket," The Age quoted Ponting, as saying.

"We've got a lot of cricket against them in the next few months, so it will be interesting to see just how long that aggressive-natured cricket does last from them."

The Indians arrive in late December after a home series against Pakistan and have one three-day match in Australia, against Victoria, to prepare for the Boxing Day Test. By the end of January, they will have played four Tests before the caravan rolls into a triangular one-day series with Sri Lanka.

NSW leg spinner Stuart MacGill, desperate to fill Shane Warne's large void this summer, echoed Ponting's theme.

"It's always a danger if you're trying to become someone that you're not because you've got to concentrate on a whole lot of things out on the field, not just bowling," said MacGill.

"It's always easier when you've got a lot of support at home to ride your emotions. They only need to look around and know they've got a billion countrymen supporting them. I think you'll find it doesn't work for them if they're pretending," he added. (ANI)