"No doubt helpful playing a lot here" - Pat Cummins hopes Australia's knowledge of Indian conditions will help in their 2023 World Cup campaign
Australia captain Pat Cummins hopes to draw inspiration from their promising performances in India over the last few years and reckons the they are comfortable playing in these conditions.
The right-arm speedster acknowledged that Australia are aware of the conditions and anticipates a good showing in the 2023 World Cup.
Australia have been the only team to beat India in a one-day series in their backyard since 2015, winning two out of four. However, the Men in Yellow lost the most recent one comprehensively. But a warm-up match victory over Pakistan should give their hopes a boost.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Cummins said the World Cup campaign feels like 14 guys on a trip trying to make the next few weeks as special as it can be. The 30-year-old said, as quoted by cricket.com.au:
"The positive thing is we've played some really good one-day cricket against India over here the last few years so we can draw back on that. It's conditions we know really well. It's no doubt helpful playing a lot here. I think the most exciting thing about a World Cup is it's a campaign. It feels like you're there with 14 other guys and you're on a journey to try and make the next couple of months as special as it can (be)."
The five-time champions will also have fond memories of Chennai as they won the one-day game against India held there in March 2023. Steve Smith, who captained them, helped the tourists defend 269 to win by 21 runs.
"There's a few ways you can go about it" - Pat Cummins on navigating middle-overs in ODIs
Cummins suggested that controlling the middle-overs in a one-day game depends a lot on the bowling combination and feels building pressure is critical. Highlighting it as the most interesting aspect of the game, Cummins added:
"That's the interesting part of ODI cricket because there's a few ways you can go about it. As a captain the questions you want to ask are; are you trying to get out overs from your fifth or sixth bowler? Or do you try and front-end it and bowl the main guys, trying to go after those wickets? But then if it doesn't work out, your last 10 overs might be a bit more exposed. Sometimes if the ball's not swinging or spinning, maybe it's trying to build pressure and get wickets that way. It's an interesting phase – you've got to try and think a little bit differently."
Australia already have five World Cup titles under their belt and will look to add a sixth this year.