Aussies, India draw on past Bangalore wins

Australia skipper Steve Smith and India counterpart Virat Kohli have contrasting takes on recent Tests between the sides in Bangalore.

India's Virat Kohli, right, and Australia's Steve Smith

Australia and India both have reason to feel bullish about returning to Bangalore. (AAP)

Australia and India both have reason to feel bullish about returning to Bangalore's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the second Test starts on Saturday.

For the tourists, their record at the venue is outstanding. Australia have only lost one of the five Tests they've played there.

Remarkably, Australia's Test winning record in Bangalore (40 per cent) is better than India's (28.6 per cent).

The visitors' one Test loss at the ground came during their most recent visit in 2010. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, who will be key wickets for Steve Smith's side, both played in that game.

"It's nice to know that Australia has done well here in the past," Australia skipper Smith said, also naming an unchanged XI.

"We're both playing on the same wicket, so what's happened in the past is really irrelevant.

"But hopefully India are thinking that way, thinking we've had some success there in the past."

India counterpart Virat Kohli, who also captains Indian Premier League franchise Royal, who play at the stadium, suggested the opposite was true.

"Whenever we've played Test cricket here we've done really well ... we always play well at this stadium," Kohli said.

"The last time we played here against Australia, we won. Those things are big positives for us.

"We know exactly how the wicket plays. We know exactly what to do."

The visitors hold a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series after cruising to a 333-run victory on a raging turner in Pune.

The result meant Kohli, previously undefeated at home as Test captain, copped plenty of criticism in the Indian press.

"The comments or headlines don't matter to us, they never have and we don't base our cricket on that," he said.

Both skippers expect the Bangalore wicket to be far more batsman friendly.

"I've played a lot of games here. I don't think the wicket has changed over the years at all," Kohli said.

"It looks like a typical Bangalore wicket. There's no surprises about the wicket."

Smith noted it looked quite similar to the wickets produced during England's visit last December.

"First-innings runs are going to be crucial," he said.

"England batted reasonably well and got 400 pretty consistently but that wasn't good enough, you had to bat for longer and get your 550, 600 to be in the game."

Australia are hunting their second Test series win in India since 1969.


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Source: AAP



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