Australian captain Steve Smith admitted that playing Indian spinners in the middle phase of the innings will be the challenge for them in Dubai in the Champions Trophy semifinal on Tuesday. India played four spinners against New Zealand on Sunday and they are expected to play with the same team.
Varun Chakravarthy was the pick of the bowlers against the Kiwis as he bagged a five-wicket haul against the Kiwis. The 33-year-old spinner returned with impressive figures of 5-42 in his quota of 10 overs and troubled the opposition’s batters with his guile and variations.
Steve Smith said in the pre-match press conference, “I think not just Chakaravarthy. I think the rest of their spin is a quality as well. So I think for us, the game’s probably won and lost how we play this spin, particularly in the middle overs, the way we get through there. It’s going to be a challenge. I think that there’s going to be some spin by the looks of it. We’ve got to counter that.”
Smith said it was the right decision to arrive in Dubai earlier in order to get used to the conditions for the semifinal clash.
“We guessed right in the end. Ideal to be here and have a couple of days preparation. I think had we stayed and waited for last night’s result, we would have had to have flown here today and played tomorrow, not get a chance to train on the surface or get used to the conditions that we have at the academy. And if we had to go back, we would have just got on the same plane back as New Zealand and had a day there before playing. So it made sense to us.”
Smith added that India would have the advantage as they have played three matches in Dubai but expects a good contest.
“In terms of an advantage, yeah, maybe, I’m not sure. Yeah, India obviously played all their games here. So they’ve seen what the surface is doing. Obviously, the whole square block’s pretty dry.”Having spoken to the groundsman just now, it’s a dry surface, had a lot of traffic. So we’ve seen how the wickets are played. And India have obviously played really well in their games as well. So it’s going to be a good contest. We’re looking forward to it.”
As per the reports, a fresh pitch is expected to be used in Dubai.
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