Smith confident of improved show against spin

Smith confident of improved show against spin

A little over two weeks ago, Steve Smith had cited that winning a Test series in India (when Australia comes back in 2021) is 'big on my bucket list'. Australia's selection policies in opting for youth over experience reflected much of the same thinking. That ambition of improving against spin overall suffered a hiccup as they were forced to come from behind to square the Test series against Bangladesh. And no sooner than the conclusion of that series, Smith's Australia have landed in Chennai for the upcoming limited-overs series consisting of five ODIs and three T20Is.

When Australia toured India for Tests earlier this year, they lost a hard-fought series, fuelling Smith's desire to overcome India in India. But if there was any thought overlap about his aims then the Australia skipper was quick to dismiss them, underlining the change in formats. Neither the batting frailties against spin nor the absence of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the wreckers-in-chief in the Tests, seemed to bother Smith.

"I think the one-day group has played spin pretty well. Obviously we're still learning in the Test format, just coming out of a challenging tour of Bangladesh. Guys are learning and trying to improve, and I hope they continue to do so. Obviously the one-day wickets will not present quite as much spin as the Test wickets. But we have to wait and see and adapt to the conditions.

"It's a completely different format really from Test cricket. Axar Patel has done well from them, [Yuzvendra] Chahal is there in the squad as well and Kuldeep Yadav, he's a good bowler too. They certainly have some good spinners. We are gonna have to play them well throughout the series," added Smith.

The Test series was surrounded in acrimony with off-field exchanges consistently threatening to take the sheen off the on-field action. But Smith hinted that this time around, there will be less spice.

"I think it will be played in good spirit," Smith replied when asked about the animosity. "It is always a hard fought contest playing against India and we are excited about the challenge of playing here. Looking back at the last one-day tour here (I wasn't on it in 2013), it was a big run fest. Pretty flat wickets and good totals. We'll see what we are presented with it but it could be the same again," he added.

That Australia have taken some definite steps towards tackling their spin demons is well known. Chief among them is their use of former India cricketer Sridharan Sriram as a spin batting and bowling consultant.

"Sri has been really good. He's got some great knowledge on how to play in these conditions and helps a lot of players, particularly spinners in understanding how to bowl in these conditions, probably more for longer formats than the shorter formats. The wickets generally don't offer quite as much spin as Test wickets so. He still has a great knowledge of lot of grounds in India, the nature of the wickets. He's been really good for this team," said the captain.

While stressing on how the challenges for his team will be different this time around, Smith also stressed that it will not be any easier. "It is going to be a tough tour. India has been playing some very good cricket for a while now, they are just coming out of a successful tour of Sri Lanka. It's going to be a good challenge for this group. Excited about it," he said.