IND vs AUS 2017, 5th ODI: Visitors Seeking Comeback Inspiration from India Skipper
Oct 1, 2017 at 11:10 AM
It seems Virat Kohli is not only inspiring the Indian team but also the opposition nowadays, as Kane Richardson said the beleaguered Australian team is looking to replicate the performance of the Indian team that was inspired by Virat Kohli.
The Men in Blue were staring down the barrel in Australia last year after losing the first ODI of the five-match series. But after Virat Kohli urged the team to bounce back, MS Dhoni & Co. responded in style by winning the remaining one ODI and the following three T20Is to make it 4-4 overall.
Australia is in a similar position at the moment, trailing the ongoing five-match ODI series by 1-3, but will have a chance to leave India with their heads held high if they manage to replicate the performance that India gave last year against them. In fact, winning all the remaining games will see the finishing the tour with an overall record of 5-4.
“I think they lost the first four one-dayers and Virat spoke about winning the last one-dayer and then the three T20s to make it four-all,” Richardson said.
“If we can keep winning and get ahead of them in terms of win/loss for the tour that would be the goal,” he added.
While the win in the fourth game in Bengaluru have given Australia the much-needed momentum, Richardson is under no illusion the visitors will have to play the ‘perfect game’ to win in India.
“It’s all about momentum now heading into the T20s,” Richardson said. “But as we know it’s quite tough over here. Unless you play the perfect game, it’s tough to win.”
The right-arm pacer also expressed his delight over the victory that snapped Australia’s woeful away record in overseas ODIs. The win was Australia’s first in 14 attempts, before which they had lost 5-0 against South Africa, 2-0 against New Zealand, one in Champions Trophy before losing the first three games of the ongoing series.
“It’s definitely nice to win the boys who have experienced those last couple of tours,” he said. “The 5-0 in South Africa, hearing from the boys that were quite tough. Now heading to Nagpur, the goal is to keep winning.”