JOIN US'We have no psychological edge'
Australia may have remained unbeaten against India during the Test series and the following tri-series but Aaron Finch ruled out any psychological advantage for the home team when the two sides clash in the second semifinal here at the SCG on Thursday.
“During the summer we played some really good cricket against India,” Finch told the media here on Tuesday. “They're a team that have played beautifully throughout this World Cup, obviously undefeated so far. They've grown in confidence all through. When you look down our team we match up quite well, they match up well against us too. So it's going to be a great game. In terms of psychological stuff, I don't think (we have any advantage)… Guys move on pretty quick from that kind of stuff,” he offered.
While India’s turnaround in the World Cup has been nothing less than extraordinary, Finch said he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary that India have been doing now that has seen them register seven consecutive wins. “I think they've gone with a pretty similar strategy,” Finch noted. “They've gone with a game plan that seems to be clicking for them now. After the Test series and the tri-series when we played them again in the warm-up game, their plan didn’t look to have changed too much. I suppose they've just spent a lot more time in the country.
Having been here for four and a half months the bowlers probably have adapted their lengths a little bit. They've got skilful bowlers. (Mohammad) Shami is bowling well. He's swinging the ball which is a huge factor I suppose for them at the start of the innings. They've probably played a lot more cricket here and got used to the conditions, the length you bowl and stuff like that. There's no rocket science -- they're bowling well, they're batting well. They're going to be tough to beat,” he remarked.
While praising the Indian attack, particularly the seamers, Finch said Australia were confident of negating their threat. “Shami is up there with the leading wicket-takers of the tournament – (Umesh) Yadav, Mohit Sharma… They've been bowling well as a group. With our side we're confident that we can negate that. Yes they've got some quality spinners but at the same time, wickets are generally pretty true here. Whatever happens I suppose if we stick to our game plans and play well it goes a long way towards winning the game. It's about being aggressive without being over the top.”
The opener, who started the tournament with a century against England, said Australia were yet to discuss the Indian bowlers. “Not yet, we'll sit down as a batting group this afternoon and talk about their bowlers in a bit more depth,” he said when asked if they have drawn up any strategy against R Ashwin. “Ashwin's a quality bowler. As long as you have your own individual plans, it's important to stick to them. He's bowled well throughout the tournament. He's bowled in some difficult phases of the game and done well. It's going to be an exciting challenge for everyone,” he pointed out.