MELBOURNE, Feb 13: Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said his team was capable of conquering the challenges of playing in the Indian sub-continent as the world champions left for a tour of Sri Lanka.

Ponting said the Australians were coming to terms with the physical and psychological barriers presented by the conditions presented by matches in the region, which has proved an unhappy hunting ground in recent years.

"I think it's a huge challenge for us - anywhere in the sub-continent has always been a huge challenge for Australia," Ponting said before the team's departure for Sri Lanka, where they lost a Test series 1-0 in 1999.

"There are conditions over there that looking back through the records, probably Australian teams haven't performed that well in. "But saying that, a lot of the guys in the side now have played a lot of cricket in those conditions."

Australia have matched India in limited overs cricket for several years, including victories in the 2003 World Cup final and recent tri-series in both countries. But the big challenge is the three-Test tour of India later this year. "Looking back to the last Indian tour, we played really well on that tour but didn't win it - but we've got a better understanding of how we can play well in those conditions," said Ponting of the epic 2001 series which Australia lost 2-1.

"One thing I want the team to be able to do is to win away from home. "What I want us to do is to play the same brand of cricket overseas as we do in Australia.

"We've got a lot of cricket in the sub-continent coming up over the next six or eight months and the challenge is there for us. "I know we've got the right personnel and the right approach, it's just a matter of putting that into practice when it matters."

Ponting said the side needed to avoid psyching itself out of a winning frame of mind because of the pitfalls of the sub-continent. "As long as you've got your own game plan sorted out when you get there the rest of it will look after itself - you'll actually go out and play well," he said. - AFP