Australia hope Warner, Smith will salvage pride
RANCHI: The harsh Indian summer is slowly giving way to winter, with the nip in the air hinting at the change of season. But the travelling Australian cricketers haven’t stopped feeling the heat. They were thrashed 4-1 by India in the ODI series and now face a daunting task in the T20I series, starting here on Saturday.
Having lost their last six T20I matches against India, the Australians are now pinning their hopes on the likes of David Warner and captain Steve Smith, considering their experi- ence in Indian conditions, courtesy the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“The experience of the players in IPL will be all the more relevant with the change of format. We hope to do better with guys like Steve Smith and David Warner leading the charge,” Moises Henriques, who has joined the side for the three-t20i series, said during a media interaction.
While Warner was one of Australia’s better performers in the ODI series, scoring a century and a half-century; Smith scored two half-centuries in five matches. Henriques insisted Australia are hopeful of giving a fight despite the losses in ODIS.
“The guys will be embracing a new format, a new series and go for a fresh start in this first game in Ranchi. Sometimes, you need a change in mental state, change in attitude or in this case a change in format to start afresh,” he said.
Regarding his own comeback into the Australian team after the ODI series in June against England, Henriques said: “I definitely think I am good enough to play at this level. I think a lot of the opportunities that I have got in the past have been in roles different to what I play now. I feel my game has come a long way in the last two to three years but I haven’t got opportunity in that time. Every time I walk out for Australia, I don’t worry too much about what comes out of it. But rather I try to do whatever is needed for Australia to win.”