“They are playing this as a practice match” - Shreyas Iyer makes an interesting observation about Australia’s below-par performance in the ODI series
Team India batter Shreyas Iyer has stated that Australia would remain a dangerous side heading into the World Cup despite their poor performance in the ongoing ODI series. According to Shreyas, Australia are playing the ODI games as practice matches and hence are experimenting by giving chances to several players.
India clinched the three-match ODI series with a game to spare after hammering the Aussies by 99 runs [DLS method] in the second game in Indore on Sunday. The hosts had earlier won the opening ODI in Mohali by five wickets.
While Australia have been surprisingly below par in the first two games, Shreyas made it clear that he will never take them lightly. At a post-match press conference, he was asked about Australia’s losses in the first two ODIs. He responded:
"We know how the Australian team is. The way they plan their stuff, I am sure they are playing this as a practice match and they want to build momentum going forward to the World Cup, so they are experimenting. Also, they are giving chances to a lot of players so that they get a fair chance to see how the conditions are in India."
“At the same time, they play challenging cricket, so I am sure they would be planning pretty well in the future matches against India and also when I come into bat. So, I am never going to take them lightly as a team. They can hurt you at times. It’s always fantastic to play with them because they are highly motivated as a team and they lift up the atmosphere around,” the 28-year-old added.
Australia rested skipper Pat Cummins for the second ODI in Indore on Sunday, with Steve Smith leading the side. Also, pacer Spencer Johnson was handed his international debut in the 50-over format.
“We're doing some right things moving into the World Cup” - Australian all-rounder Sean Abbott
While Australia may have struggled in the first two ODIs against India, all-rounder Sean Abbott asserted that they are doing some things right heading into the World Cup. According to the pacer, while Australia conceded 400 in Indore, they bowled pretty well at the death.
"Although we went for 400 again, I thought our death bowling was pretty good. It can still be improved a lot but our execution in bringing those stumps into play, owning our lengths and putting pressure on the batters that way certainly has to improve, and I have no doubt of that, we've got a very skilled attack," he said.
"We're doing some right things moving into the World Cup, we just haven't put them out there on the park yet so I'm confident we can turn that around pretty quickly," Abbott concluded.
Abbott went for 91 runs in his 10 overs, but top-scored with the bat for his side, scoring 54 off 36 balls.