Record not weighing on Ponting's mind

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting is paying little attention to the possibility of winning a record-equalling 16 Test matches in a row as his team prepare for the second Test against India in Sydney.

Having easily accounted for the Indians during the opening Test in Melbourne, Ponting's men are on track to equal the mark of consecutive Test victories set by a Steve Waugh-captained Australia side in 2001.

However, Ponting was wary of his players getting too far ahead of themselves, stressing: "You've got to win 600 contests a day before you win a day's play in a Test match and you've got to put five of those days together to win a Test."

He added: "There's a lot of hard work goes into it and I just think the less we think about it (the record), the better.

"I mentioned it in a team meeting this morning just to get the guys a little bit excited about the fact and give them something to sort of process and get out of their heads today before tomorrow."