Although they managed to wrest the advantage back from India to pull off a win, the visitors will also have the treatment meted out to them by MS Dhoni in the third ODI at the back of their minds. The India captain had sent them on the back foot with a blistering 139* to revive the Indian innings.
When they take on India again they will have reflected on the India skipper’s batting prowess. Speaking about Dhoni, Australian batsman Phillip Hughes said, “It can be real challenging when you are facing a class player like Dhoni. He has been exceptional for a number of years and he is very at good batting in the death and hitting the ball over the park. But the bowlers are still staying positive. They don’t want to dwell too much on that game. I still think the bowlers have done a fantastic job through the series. We have seen that there have been a number of runs on these wickets. It's about staying tight as a unit and looking to improve day in day out.”
While they were clobbered by Dhoni, the Australians themselves have been piling on the runs. They have also been able to negotiate spin and have garnered runs off Ravichandran Ashwin. Speaking on the topic, Hughes said, “We respect all their bowlers. There is no certain plan. Ashwin's been a very good performer for a number of years and we respect him. Definitely as batsmen we respect all bowlers. When a bowler has a ball in their hand, there is always a chance of bowling a dot or getting a wicket. So it is about respecting the opponent, definitely.”
When asked if the length Ishant Sharma bowled has helped the batsmen collect runs off him, Hughes replied, “If you look at last match’s performance, it was really good from all of us lower down the order. And it was sensational what James Faulkner did at the end. Ishant has been a quality bowler around the world for a number of years. We respect that but we just came up trumps against him.”
Scoring at an average of over 50 runs, the opening batsman has been instrumental in his team’s fortunes. Talking about his batting, Hughes said, “There are a couple of things that I obviously picked up and worked on. That was the first time that I had toured India on an international tour and Test series. Yeah, it’s a nice thing to have toured and come back and score a few runs.”
His opening stands with Aaron Finch have helped lay foundations for the visitors. Discussing their partnerships, he said, “Aaron's very good to bat with. Standing at the other end, I've got the best seat in the house when he goes off. We have had a really good relationship over the last five to 10 years actually. We roomed together at the academy and always kept in touch. Aaron's just a fantastic guy and cricketer. I love going out to bat with him. The one disappointing thing is that we'd like to make the partnership bigger and try and take the game on even more. We have been quite consistent in the first three games and we have spoken about not looking too far ahead. Hopefully we can keep posting totals on the board and setting the guys that come in through the middle order.”
“Australia have scored over 300 three times. We have been quite consistent in the way we have been batting. But seeing that it’s a seven-match series, we don’t want to look too far ahead and keep performing.”
Speaking about his team’s good run, he said, “All the boys are gelling together as well as the coaching staff. To be 2-1 up in this series is real pleasing. All the boys’ confidence is real high, and hopefully we will continue our good form through the series.
He also credited captain George Bailey for his leadership and contribution with the bat. “He has been outstanding. He is really leading from the front. He is a real good character and we all really love playing under George. He has really led from the front with the bat, and he has been very consistent in the one-day format in the last 12 months. Again in this series, he has batted really beautifully; great to see the leader lead from the front.”
While the batting has seen more moments of success, the bowlers have had a few lows with all games witnessing high scores. Speaking about their bowling, he mentioned, “Mitchell Johnson has been the star for us. He has been using his short ball and he has been very consistent in the last three games. He's bowled with some really fierce pace, which is great to see. But in saying that, our bowling unit has done a good job. It can be tough on these wickets.”
Also the new rules and the use of two new balls have also made conditions tough for the bowlers. Looking at that situation in a positive light, Hughes added, “The great thing about touring around the world is that you just see different scores. You have seen a lot of big scores in this series to date.”
