Colombo, Sep 25: Table-toppers in their respective groups, India and Australia face off in their opening game of the Super Eights stage at the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 on Friday. While the Indians trained at the Colts Cricket Club in Colombo, the Australians hit the nets at the P Sara Oval.
Speaking after the session, Australian pacer, Pat Cummins, said, "A few of them [Indian batsmen] aren’t too fond of the short ball. We will try and ruffle a few feathers. You know, [Suresh] Raina and [Gautam] Gambhir and a few of those guys, they are never comfortable with the short ball and we are probably gonna dig in a couple of them. Hopefully, that pays off."
After their victory over the West Indies on Saturday, the Australians took some time off and resumed training today. They worked hard in the nets as they prepared for their game against India. Speaking about the side's time off and preparation, the bowler said, "A few guys went down to Galle for some rest and a few others played golf. Today, it was a bit of fun. We had a good hit in the nets, everyone is fine, there are no injury concerns. We are looking forward to Friday."
Australia's bowling wasn't up to the mark in their last match. Reflecting on their bowling in the match against West Indies he said, "Yeah, we weren’t pretty pleased as well. We had plans but probably we didn’t execute them all. We are trying to work on that and we are trying to make sure that we go in with a clean mind and clean plan and not get ruffled or too disturbed at all. We will try and come back strong."
On the pitch at the R. Premadasa Stadium Cummins said, "It’s been pretty quick and good so far. It is about trying to hit the deck hard. Try and swing the ball in the first four overs and after that keep trying hard. The pitches at times have been a little grippy and at others times, it is sliding a bit, so we got to try the yorkers and the short balls."
Speaking about India's thumping victory over England, Cummins said, "The other night, they did not play with their full-strength side, so I guess you never know what is going to come your way. They are world-class players and everyone has got a lot of experience due to the IPL. They have all sorts of players. We will go a bit harder and hopefully everything pays off."
When asked about Australia's strategy for Indian spinners who were instrumental in India's last win, Cummins said, "I am not a batsman. But yes, we have batted well so far. If we can nullify the key spinners, that will go a long way in winning the tie. We have done that before. [David] Warner, Watto [Shane Watson] and [Michael] Hussey have been brilliant. It’s like playing any other bowler, it is about turning the strike over. One or two good overs, and anything is possible."
