Australian captain Pat Cummins said negating Indian spinners on a Chepauk pitch that is expected to offer turn and grip in plenty would be the biggest challenge for his batters in their World Cup opener here on Sunday.
India could be fielding three spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin against the Aussies.
“They're a good bowling line-up, especially in home conditions. So, they're going to be challenging,” Cummins said in the pre-match press conference here on Saturday.
However, Cummins hoped that past experience of playing against the Indian spinners would stand them in good stead.
“The good thing is that we've played them a lot. So, our batters will have their own plans. We've had success against them a few times. They've bowled well against us a few times as well,” said Cummins.
Cummins also banked on the IPL experience of some Australian players to come up trumps against the tweakers.
“It's a ground (MA Chidambaram) we've played quite often. It feels like whenever we tour India, there seems to be a game here. A few of the guys have played for CSK as well, or you know, a fair bit here for IPL. So, it may serve us well,” said Cummins.
Recently, David Warner had batted right-handed against Ashwin in the second ODI at Rajkot, and Cummins did not rule out the possibility of the veteran opener adopting some novel strategy to counter the spin.
“Yeah, Davey, we'll see if he bats right-handed or left-handed. Yeah, he's probably better left-handed, I reckon, but we'll see how he goes,” said Cummins.
The five-time champions have thin spin options in their ranks in leg-spinner Adam Zampa and part-time offie Glenn Maxwell.
The all-rounder Maxwell took four wickets conceding 40 runs when Australia defended 352 against India in the recent third ODI at Rajkot.
Cummins hoped that Maxwell would have a big tournament with the ball and bat.
“We've seen Max, he's a front-line spin bowler. In the 2015 World Cup, he was the sole spinner in basically every single match. I thought he bowed really well in that third ODI against India. So, yeah, we've got 20 overs of spin out there if we need it.
“He's got an amazing knack of if he misses out with the bat, he contributes with the ball and vice-versa. No doubt, expecting a big tournament from Maxi,” Cummins added.
The premier fast bowler, who is only the second pacer in history to captain Australia after Ray Lindwall, said a good start to such a long tournament is important.
But the fact of India being the hot favourites at home too did not lose on him.
“In the home conditions you'd imagine, they're probably tournament favourites. So yeah, if we win tomorrow that's awesome, if not, well, we know where we stand and maybe we need to change a few things. It should be a cracker,” said Cummins.
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