Pat Cummins highlighted Australia's preparations for the crucial India game ahead of their opening ICC World Cup 2023 match. The Australian skipper revealed their batters' plan to tackle the Indian spin attack and also hinted at playing eleven to face the world's no.1 ODI team.
India and Australia clash in the high-voltage game at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium on October 8. Both teams recently clashed in the three-match ODI series as their final preparations for the mega tournament where Pat Cummins-led side suffered a 1-2 defeat.
But going into the World Cup game, Cummins is looking to build up momentum from their impressive victory in the third ODI in Rajkot on September 27. Australia recorded a 66-run win while defending 352 runs where Glenn Maxwell turned out as a hero with four wickets.
On the other hand, India will enter the game as favourites in Chennai having well-stocked options in the spin department. The return of Ravichandran Ashwin further adds stability to India's spin attack but Cummins is not worried. The star pacer revealed Australian batters' experience of batting against spin and said that they fielded their strongest playing eleven during the Rajkot game.
"It (preparation) starts with training for the next few days before the game," Pat Cummins said on Thursday. "The Australian guys play a lot of spin. Our batting order had played a lot in India and done well, so they know most of the (Indian) bowlers and they have a plan (in place). We are really confident. We had a good win in the third ODI (in Rajkot), which is probably a bit closest to our strongest XI. We have had pretty good records in ODIs in India."
Australia are likely to field a similar playing eleven against India in the World Cup match. Adam Zampa is likely to return to their team in the place of Tanveer Sangha and Glenn Maxwell is likely to play as the second spin bowling option.
"Max (Maxwell) is a key player for us. He has got an amazing knock; even if he misses out with the bat, he contributes with the ball and vice-versa. In all three facets, he seems to pull off a match-winning move. He had a couple of really good warm-up games and looks right on form, so expect him to be constructive," Cummins added.
