Spin, not a headache for the Australians, says Steve Smith

The Australians are all set to go head to head against The Indians in the limited overs format starting from Sunday. Skipper Steve Smith and his brigade have already landed in Chennai and have begun their preparations for the upcoming battle. The clash between the two behemoths is expected to be a cracker of a contest which is sure to keep the fans at the edge of their seats.

While many believe that the spin friendly tracks in India will be a headache for the Aussies, skipper Steve Smith begs to differ. According to the fidgety batsman, the Aussie ODI team have dealt with spin brilliantly in the recent past. However, he admitted that the team is still learning as far as the Test format is concerned.

Australia visited India earlier this year to lock horns in a 3 match Test series. After winning the first Test, Australia had to settle for a 2-1 defeat in the tour owing to a remarkable comeback from Virat Kohli and his men. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin wrecked havoc in the Australian camp sharing a mammoth 46 wickets between them in the series.

What Smith had to say:

“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 after his arrival in Chennai.

”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.” he added. “(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.” Smith stated.

Despite the fact that the India-Australia encounters have always been marked by a lot of tension and heat Smith believes that the upcoming series will be played in the spirit of the game. “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 Smith said.

”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.”

The skipper is expecting a lot from youngster Adam Zampa who is now familiar with the Indian Premier League. Zampa represented the Rising Pune Supergiant team under the captaincy of none other than Smith in the tournament’s iconic 10th edition.

”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.

Smith admitted to the fact that the series will be a massive challenge for his side. The talented blonde mentioned that they have been following the India-Sri Lanka series and have been highly impressed by the performance of the Indian team. Having said that, Smith added that the Kangaroos are excited by the high standards of the tour.

”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.