Smith sees no spin threat for Australia in India

Earlier this year, spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared 46 wickets between them to bowl India to a 2-1 series victory against Australia, who also tasted their maiden test defeat against a spin-heavy Bangladesh last month.





India have rested Ashwin and Jadeja for the first three ODIs and Smith believes the wickets in the shorter format will not be as helpful to the slower bowlers.

"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, which will host the first ODI on Sunday.

"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.

"(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."

Sparks often fly whenever they clashed against India but the Australia skipper was confident the upcoming series will be played in 'good spirit'.

"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 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.

"We'll see what we're presented with but it could be the same again."

Smith was hopeful leg-spinner Adam Zampa will have a big impact on the series with his knowledge of the Indian conditions having played in the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

"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.

"And if he gets his opportunity, hopefully he can have some success on this tour."

Kohli's men have been on a roll in tests and are just back after subjecting Sri Lanka to a tour whitewash by winning all nine matches there.

"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."





(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world