The Australian team has arrived in India to participate in the limited overs series that will feature 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is. Steve Smith and his men faced a tough task in Bangladesh and managed to just draw the Test series 1-1.
From the whites, the action now shifts to colored clothing. Steve Smith spoke after his arrival in Chennai, the venue for the warm-up match as well as the first ODI. He reckons that the one-day troop has handled spin better than the Test side and that it should be an issue in the limited overs series.
“I think the one-day group has played spin pretty well for a while. Obviously, we are still learning in the Test format,” Smith said.
“We have come from a challenging tour from Bangladesh. The guys are learning and trying to improve. So, hopefully they can continue to do so. (I am) not sure the one-day wickets will present quite as much spin (as) perhaps some of the test wickets. But we have to wait and see and adapt to the conditions accordingly.” he added.
Excited to play against India
He touched upon the rivalry between Australia and India and said the team is up for the challenge. He also recalled the last ODI series in the country that produced loads of runs.
“It’s always a hard-fought contest playing against India and we’re excited by the challenge of playing over here,” the 28-year-old added.
”Looking back to the last one-day tour of India, I wasn’t on it in 2013, but it was a big run-fest from memory with pretty flat wickets and big totals.” he added. “We’ll see what we’re presented with but it could be the same again.”
Steve Smith also lauded the young leg-spinner in his side Adam Zampa. The skipper believes that Zampa has a handful of experience of playing in India during his stint with Rising Pune Supergiant which was led by Smith himself.
”He has got a pretty good record over the last a year or two,“ Smith said. ”He has got some experience playing in these conditions in IPL. So, we know what to expect from Zampa.” he added. “And if he gets his opportunity, hopefully he can have some success on this tour.” said Smith.
Been following the Sri Lanka tour
The right-hander accepted that facing India in their own backyard won’t be easy as they have been in a tremendous form of late. The team has been following India’s tour of Sri Lanka and they would look to prepare strategies against specific players.
”We have been following the India-Lanka series in bits and pieces,“ he said. ”They are playing some really good cricket. It’s a good challenge for us.
“It’s always tough playing India in India. They are very good ODI side. Just seeing the side they have announced, it looks like a strong side. We are excited by the challenge of the series.” he concluded.
