India’s chief tormentor throughout summer has turned the heat up on MS Dhoni’s men, suggesting they will carry “scars” into the World Cup semi-final.
Steve Smith scored an astonishing 769 runs in Australia’s four-Test series against India, breaking all manner of records.
The visitors were competitive at times, but never able to get over the line.
Victory also eluded them in the tri-series, then a World Cup warm-up match against Australia at Adelaide Oval.
Opinions are split on what that will mean at the SCG on Thursday, but Smith made his thoughts on the matter clear.
“We’ll have a little edge over them with a few scars from the matches throughout the summer,” Smith said on Tuesday.
“They didn’t beat us once, so I think that’s going to be playing on their mind a little bit.”
However, Smith added the attack he’s facing this week will be far more switched on compared to the bowling unit he dominated throughout December.
The defending champions are undefeated in the World Cup, having taken 10 wickets in every match.
Spearhead Mohammed Shami looks far more threatening compared to the Test series, while offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin has found a way to regularly dry up the runs.
“They have been here long enough, they are getting used to the conditions,” Smith said.
“They have played some really good cricket throughout this World Cup.
“We have to be at the top of our game if we are going to beat them.”
Aaron Finch noted it didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out the key behind India’s turnaround.
“They’ve been bowling well as a group, but we’re confident we can negate that,” Finch said.
“Yes, they’ve got some quality spinners, but at the same time wickets are generally pretty true here.
“It’s about being aggressive without being over the top.”
Smith agreed it was the right approach, highlighting how well it worked for Australia in their pool match against Sri Lanka at the same venue.
Smith helped push Australia to a score of 4-177 in the 33rd over of that innings, building the platform for Glenn Maxwell and Shane Watson to tee off.
Maxwell and Watson shared a 160-run stand, with their side finishing on 9-374.
“We (Smith and Michael Clarke) just like to take our time and knock the ball around,” Smith said.
“That will work well against India with their spinners bowling quite a few overs in the middle.
“We can give our power hitters the last 15 overs ideally to come in and do what they did against Sri Lanka, I think that is our blueprint.”
Showers battered the SCG on Tuesday, but Australia completed their training session in the morning when NSW State of Origin coach Laurie Daley visited the side.
It’s predicted to be mostly sunny on Thursday, but the pitch could be impacted if the covers stay on for most of the next few days.
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