Will India make a comeback or will Australia win the current ODI series?

For MS Dhoni's men, it is a must win series as Australia lead 3-2 after winning the fifth contest in Hyderabad.

Even Sachin Tendulkar's blasting innings of 175 could not prevent India losing the latest ODI by just three runs - and a lack of consistency is costing them dear in the series.

After courting defeat from the jaws of victory, Indian captain Dhoni conceded that his team could not win the mental battle in Hyderabad.

''I don't think it was the talent part. I think it was the mental part, where you know you can play a big shot and you back yourself to do that,'' Dhoni said. ''At times you just go through the motions; you don't know if such a shot is needed or not.''

Dhoni lamented the fact that India could not come up with one last-minute knock-out punch to win them the game.

''We came very close, but the one last effort that we needed as a team we couldn't put in,'' he added.

Dhoni also conceded the fact that dropping so many catches was one of the reasons behind India's downfall. ''We dropped three catches. One of them was tough,'' he said.

''We lost too many wickets in the middle order. Myself, Gauti [Gautam Gambhir], Yuvraj, we got out pretty quickly. We could have done better.

''Though it was a very good track to bat, you still need a serious effort to get close to 350. If we had kept them to 330 or 325, we would have had a better chance.''

"I am not saying they could have kept them to 270, but even if they could have kept them down to 320, it would have been a completely different game. On these wickets, when there is no seam or swing, experience comes in."

"We came very close, but the one last effort that we needed as a team we couldn't put in.''