Kohli hails Aussie quality

Australia have the quality to upset the odds in their Twenty20 series, India captain Virat Kohli said on Tuesday.

He said his team would be focusing on the “little things” to come out on top.

The visitors open their tour with the first of three T20s in Brisbane on Wednesday ahead of four Tests and three onedayers that will keep them in Australia until late January.

In the short format, they have been by far the better team in recent times.

Australia have also been weakened by ball-tampering bans on key batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner.

“We definitely have a very strong side,” Kohli said. He last month became the fastest to reach 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record.

“When we step on the field we have 11 individuals striving for excellence. They want to be the best they can.”

While Kohli is a dangerman for India, so are KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, who has smashed two centuries in four T20 innings since July.

Both sit above their captain in T20 batting rankings.

Despite Australia’s being without Smith and Warner, Kohli is adamant that the hosts still pose a big threat.

“There’s no denying the quality in their side,” he said.

India arrived in Australia on the back of a home thrashing of the West Indies, but their form is traditionally more fragile on the road.

Australia were beaten in both white-ball formats by South Africa in recent weeks, but skipper Aaron Finch is confident they can turn their fortunes around. –