Australia need to defy history to win ODIs

Australia’s dire start to their Indian tour has left them trailing 2-0, a position from which they have never won a bilateral one-day international series.

The last time Australia saved an ODI series from 2-0 down was in 1994 when they fought back to draw after eight matches in South Africa.

They also salvaged a tied series with New Zealand in 1986 after losing the first two of four games.

Despite the history, in-from fast bowler Pat Cummins believes they can mount a comeback in Indore on Sunday.

“There’s still three games left. We can still win the series,” Cummins said.

While Cummins has battled stifling heat to bowl with excellent pace and control, Australia’s gallant efforts with the ball have been undermined by brittle performances with the bat.

Skipper Steve Smith said their tendency for collapse was unacceptable after slumping to a 50-run defeat in Kolkata.

Cummins took 1-34 off his 10 overs only for Australia to lose 6-63 while batting, with his dismissal completing a Kuldeep Yadav hat-trick which sealed an Indian victory

“As a player and a teammate it’s always frustrating when it’s out of our control,” Cummins said of Australia’s woes with the bat.

“I thought we got in a position in both games where we could have taken the game away from India.

“We’ve just got to try and find a way to fix that up.”

Aside from recovering mentally from two comprehensive defeats, Australia also have to bounce back quickly from sapping conditions.

“That’s the hottest one-day game anyone said they’ve played. 50 overs felt like it was about 200,” Cummins said.

Cummins hasn’t been the only quick to impress, with Nathan Coulter-Nile’s first two international appearances for more than a year yielding six wickets.

The bowlers toiled to keep India to 252 in Kolkata, but the Australian batsman failed for a second successive chase.

“To keep them to 250-odd on a really good batting wicket and batting conditions in the afternoon I thought was a great job,” Cummins said.

After two matches the pressure is mounting on stop-gap opener Hilton Cartwright (one and one), as well as wicketkeeper Matthew Wade (two and nine).

Aaron Finch could regain his spot at the top of the order as his recovery from a calf complaint continues.

Wade has now failed to make double figures in his last five ODI innings, with part-time gloveman Peter Handscomb in the squad as a potential replacement.