‘OZ have edge over India’
Sydney: Steve Smith piled on a lot of runs against India leading into the World Cup, and reckons the defending champions still have a few scars from their underwhelming tour against Australia. The teams meet again in the World Cup semifinals on Thursday, with India on a seven-match winning streak. That’s of no great concern to Smith, who says, “I think we’ll have a little edge over them with a few scars from the matches throughout the summer” when India failed to win a competitive match. “They didn’t beat us once,” the 25-year-old right-hander said. “So I think that’s going to be playing on their mind a little bit.” Australians are unlikely to take a backward step if India wants to reprise the animosity that overshadowed the recent series. “It’s another game for us, we like to play with that aggressive nature and it’s what we’ve done well all summer.” It has been a dramatic return to form for M S Dhoni and his squad, a turnaround Smith attributed to all the time they’ve spent in Australia rather than any tactical plan. “They’ve been here for a long time, they’ve been able to get accustomed to the conditions (and) the bounce we’ve got here compared to back in India,” Smith said. “I just think we need to do what we can do well to control that. If we do that I’ve no doubt it’s going to be a competitive game for us.” Smith feels replicating Wahab Riaz’s tactic of short bowling could backfire for India. “We’re expecting them to come out and potentially bowl a little bit too short for this wicket. If they try and jam them on this wicket it might suit us with these quick boundaries. It could play into our hands,” he was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.
sledger-in-chief johnson
SYDNEY: Spurred on by the heated exchanges during Australia’s quarter-final clash against Pakistan, paceman Mitchell Johnson has said he may take on the mantle of the sledger-in-chief in the semi-finals against India as it is “part of the game”. Despite ICC boss Dave Richardson’s warning before the World Cup that repeat offenders will be hit with match bans, all rounder Glenn Maxwell said this week Australia are not concerned that David Warner will be dragged into another incident with India and risk a potential ban. An otherwise aggressive Warner has stayed away from any on-field controversy after a series of spats with Indian players during the Test series. Johnson though suggested that Warner may take a back seat when it comes to Australia’s aggressive approach at the SCG. “I heard Davey say he wasn’t going to get involved in all that stuff,” Johnson told Fox Sports. “Someone’s got to do it and I think I might put my hand up. It’s part of the game and what happened the other day with Shane (Watson) and Wahab (Riaz) I thought was exceptional, the way they played the game,” Johnson said. Australia all-rounder James Faulkner also believes that tensions would be high in the penultimate knockout game. “There’s going to be words said and it’s going to be a really tough contest,” Faulkner said. “I think there always is (sledging) in the game, if there isn’t you’ve got problems. It’s a semi-final. Neither team will be backing down.”
‘Perfect time to beat Aus’
SYDNEY: Crediting bowlers for Indian team’s remarkable turnaround after a winless show preceding the World Cup, star batsman Virat Kohli feels it is the perfect time to beat Australia in Thursday’s semi-final and do justice to their performance in the showpiece event. “There couldn’t be a better time for us (to beat Australia). It is an opportunity for us to do justice to the way we have played so far in Australia, and we haven’t had the results,” Kohli told cricket.com.au. Kohli spoke about how the team prepared in the little time it got leading up to the 50-over showpiece event. “We felt as a group that we need to step up and make corrections. So we immediately went to work, wrote things down, what things we need to improve on,” said Kohli. Kohli said the bowlers’ stand-out show has made the biggest difference. “The way the bowlers have reacted and performed with the composure, confidence and aggression, it has been wonderful. That’s probably been the difference, and if we continue to do that we have a great chance come game day,” added Kohli.