David Warner hints at Aaron Finch's inclusion in the Indore ODI
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David Warner has hinted that Aaron Finch might be match-fit for the third ODI against India in Indore. The Aussie vice-captain defended their performance against spinners, deflecting the blame towards the existing pressure on the batsmen at the time of the spinners' introduction.
Just before the start of the series against India, Aussie opener Finch aggravated his long-standing calf injury during the team's practice session in Chennai and the team management was forced to rest him for the 'first few matches' of the series. However, he stayed with the touring party in India and it appears that he might get to play the third ODI tomorrow at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.Ā The news was confirmed by vice-captain, David Warner.
āFinchās a very good batter and heās played a lot of cricket for us over the last couple of years. Heās got a lot of experience and for us, at the top of the order, he brings a lot of aggression. Itās good signs to see him back in the nets and heās doing everything possible he can to be fit for this game,ā Warner was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
The Australian batting unit has come under a lot of pressure over the last two ODI matches against India. While a negative approach in the rain-curtailed first match led to a 26-run loss via the DLS method, the lack of big partnerships accounted for a 50-run defeat in the second match at Eden Gardens. A lot was expected from David Warner, who, despite his phenomenal record under these conditions in the Indian Premier League, has only managed scores of 25 and 1 so far. Along withĀ Warner, the teamās middle-order completely failed to cope with the pressure exerted by the Indian bowlers and Warner expressed his disappointment at that.
āIf I had the answer (to when the poor run will end), we would be winning, wonāt we? At the end of the day, we are going out thinking of giving a 100 percent every time. We have had a lot of games with rain, thatās something we canāt control. At the end of the day, we are not winning. We are trying to find a way. We have noticed the last 12 months, weāve had batting collapses in both formats. Thatās something we really got to try and work on. Whatās the answer there, we donāt know. Thatās just what happens in this game. It will
āThe batters have been pretty disappointed with the results. As individuals, we are all still playing the way we want to play, go out with the mindset of trying to score runs. Thatās always going to be our mindset, try and apply pressure on the bowlers. It was quite difficult the first couple overs, especially in both these games. From an opening batsmanās point of view, it was very hard to get into your rhythm. They (India) played an exceptional spell upfront and got two early wickets. From there, we had a partnership but they didnāt carry on and Steve (Smith) spoke about that to the guys that when we get in, we should carry on to be there
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah provided the early breakthroughs for the team, the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal wreaked havoc against the Australians with the older ball. However, Warner offered the explanation that at the point they were introduced, the batsmen were already under a lot of pressure and that, more than any other factor, caused the decisiveĀ collapses.
"I find that the players can read the spinners. And that it's the odd one or two that when they can't see the seam, then the players react off the wicket and that's probably the odd one here or there.
"At the end of the day, you have to have a game plan against spin - whether or not to hit down the ground or sweep the ball. But when you're losing wickets in clumps, you become tentative. So you have to apply that pressure . If you get off to a good start and the spinners come on, it's a different game then. It's about the tempo of the game, and the situation of the game and I feel if we were in a different position, you'll see a different mode against the spinners."
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