Smith berates losing Aussies
STEVE Smith has said his side’s record this year is unacceptable for an Australian cricket team in the wake of the One Day International series loss to India.
Australia’s five-wicket defeat in Indore saw them fall 3-0 behind in the five-match series, and was their 11th loss in their past 13 ODIs away from home.
The other two matches were rain-affected no results.
With the Ashes looming in two months, the Australia skipper said his team needed to get back to winning ways fast.
“It’s a different format [to the Ashes] but to be honest I’d certainly like to start winning some games of cricket in every format,” Smith said
“It’s pretty ordinary. Not good enough for an Australian cricket team.
“We need to start turning the results around and winning some games.
“It has been a bit of a trend for this format and the test format too. We’re quite often getting ourselves into good positions and not taking advantage of those. Today was no different.”
Australia has won just three out of 17 matches across all three formats since the ODI series victory at home against Pakistan in January.
Smith’s men will be keen to break their win drought, mindful that an ODI series whitewash away to South Africa last year preceded the 2-1 test series defeat against the same opponents on home soil.
CAPTAIN Virat Kohli has called on his players to be ruthless after the crushing one-day series win over Australia took India to the top of the world one-day rankings to add to their No 1 test status.
A five-wicket win in the third game of the five-match series on Sunday gave India an unassailable 3-0 lead over Steve Smith’s Australia.
It also stretched India’s winning streak to a record 12 matches across all formats.
Kohli’s side have been on a roll for the past year since regaining the No 1 test spot with a 3-0 home whitewash of New Zealand.
The in-form captain has led from the front with 1 137 runs in 21 50-over matches this year, ahead of South Africa’s Faf du Plessis as the highest one-day scorer last year.
Kohli praised his team after the latest win against the once mighty Australians, who have been outplayed in India. Smith’s team also lost a test series 2-1 in India this year.
“Credit to the whole squad for the series win, but the journey stops only after the final game,” Kohli, the top ODI and T20 batsman in the International Cricket Council (ICC) ratings, said.
“We may give opportunities for people from now, but all 15 guys know that we have got to be ruthless once we step onto the field.”
The series has seen new Indian stars emerge, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya and left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav making an instant impact.
While Pandya’s crucial 78 led the team’s run chase in Indore, Yadav impressed with his maiden hat-trick in the second international.
However, legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi believes India have not been tested by opposition teams, barring the Champions Trophy final in June against Pakistan, which they lost by 180 runs.
India won 10 of their 13 tests on home soil in the 2016-17 season and then went on to rout hosts Sri Lanka over nine games in all three formats.
“Realistically speaking, Indians are not even fielding their best XI and beating the opposition hands down, whether it is Sri Lanka or Australia,” Bedi said.
“We love the ratings, but if we are a little more pragmatic you realise that the Indian team has not been stretched in the last year or so.
“We will get to know the character of the team when they come out of a tight situation.”
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel returns to the Indian squad in place of Ravindra Jadeja for the final two ODIs that will be played in Bangalore and Nagpur on Thursday and Sunday. – AFP