Smith & Co target Kohli, promise to behave Umesh, Shami added to bolster India pace attack
Australia skipper says keeping Virat Kohli quiet will go a long way in helping the visitors do well
CHENNAI: Australia skipper Steve Smith believes keeping Virat Kohli quiet would be key to Australia succeeding in the limitedovers series against India starting here on September 17. However, he promised it would see none of the acrimony that soured the Tests in March.
Kohli is in red-hot form, and emerged the highest run-getter in the 5-0 win over Sri Lanka with a tally of 330 runs, which included two centuries and a fifty. The Indian captain hit his 30th ODI century to equal Australian great Ricky Ponting’s record. Smith, who has eight ODI centuries, said he was not too concerned about the gulf between him and Virat Kohli but acknowledged getting the Indian skipper cheaply will be key to success in the series.
“I am not too concerned about the difference with Kohli. He is obviously a very good player and has a phenomenal ODI record. Hopefully, we can keep him quiet as much as possible in this series. If we do that then hopefully it can go a long way in us having success on this tour,” Smith told reporters after a practice session.
PAST CONTROVERSIES Australia have landed after drawing their two-Test series in Bangladesh 1-1. Spin bowling dominated those contests and tackling slow bowling will again be the key.
“This is going to be a tough tour. India have been playing good cricket for a while now and they had a very successful tour of Sri Lanka,” Smith said.
Australia’s Test tour in March was mired in controversy. During the second Test in Bangalore, Smith was in focus after admitting to looking towards the dressing room for help on a DRS call, describing it as “brain fade”.
However, Kohli accused Smith of ‘cheating’ and in turn was the target of criticism by the Australian camp, including its Board CEO, James Howard. Smith, however, promised there won’t be a repeat of such incidents.
“I think it will be played in good spirit. It is a hard-fought contest playing against India. We’re excited by the challenge of playing over here.”
The five-match ODI series starts in Chennai on September 17.
FRESH SPIN TEST
Australia lost the last ODI series in India 2-3, in a high-scoring affair. However, Smith said: “I wasn’t there in 2013, but it was a run fest from memory. Pretty flat wickets and big totals. We will see what we are presented with, it could be the same again.”
The Aussies will be facing a fresh challenge in terms of spin with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja rested. “This is a completely different format (compared to Tests). Axar Patel has done pretty well for them.
(Yuzvendra) Chahal is in the squad as well. Kuldeep Yadav is a good bowler too. They certainly have some good spin options and we have got to play them really well throughout the series,” Smith said.
“The One-day group has played spin pretty well for a while. We are still learning in the Test format and trying to improve. We are coming from a challenging tour of Bangladesh. NEW DELHI Pace bowlers Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami are back for the first three Onedayers against Australia after being rested for last week’s 5-0 win in Sri Lanka. However, the Indian selectors continued to keep out spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as they announced a 16-player squad on Sunday for the initial games of the series starting in Chennai on September 17.
Only rookie pacer Shardul Thakur has been left out of the squad that won 5-0 in Sri Lanka. The non-inclusion of Ashwin and Jadeja raises the question whether the Indian team management wants to look beyond the duo as it builds up for 2019 World Cup.
Chief selector, MSK Prasad, said in a BCCI statement: “The team for the three ODIs against Australia has been selected in line with the rotation policy of the Board and accordingly R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested.
“The team’s performance during the Sri Lanka tour was outstanding and players like Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal, who performed very well, are being given an extended run. This will supplement our approach to build strong reserve strength as we prepare for forthcoming tours.”
Jadeja, impressive in the first two Sri Lanka Tests, was suspended for the final game.
He didn’t take a wicket in his last three ODIs, the Champions Trophy final loss against Pakistan followed by the last two ODIs in the West Indies. Ashwin played only three Champions Trophy games, taking one wicket. He played two games in the West Indies, and took three wickets in the last game. Ashwin is playing in the English County.