India vs Australia: Momentum is with the home team, says Marcus Harris

Australian opener Marcus Harris feels the pitch in Perth, for the second India vs Australia Test, will suit his team more.

Marcus Harris looks forward to playing in front of his home crowd.

Marcus Harris scored 26 apiece in the two innings at the Adelaide Test. Through his brief tenures, the debutant showed that he is unfazed by international cricket. Now back at his home-town Perth, and gearing up for the second Test against India here from Friday, the Australian opener spoke about a variety of topics. There was a quiet confidence about him, and may be a wee-bit of swagger, too.

Excerpts

THE CAMEOS ON DEBUT

The biggest doubt going into your first Test is whether you can hang around for a little while and score runs. So, it was good to spend time in both the innings. Obviously, I didn’t get the scores that I would have liked but it has given me great confidence.

THE HOMECOMING

It is pretty special to play in a Perth Test. It would have been great to have played at the WACA but to get the opportunity to play at the new stadium will be pretty special. To play in front of a home crowd will be pretty special.

MORE FROM AUS v IND

MITCHELL STARC’S MIXED BAG

He bowled pretty well. There was obviously a bit of talk about him after the game but I thought he bowled pretty well during the game and he felt like he was in good rhythm out there. I am sure he is ready to go for Friday.

NARROW LOSS, INDOMITABLE CONFIDENCE

We took some good confidence from the fight we showed (at Adelaide). We got down to 31 runs. Hopefully we can take some momentum into the game on Friday. The wicket will suit us a little bit more, and that's taking nothing away from India, but I just think a little bit of momentum is with us.

JUSTIN LANGER’S INPUTS

It wasn't too much technical. His main thing to me personally and a few of the other boys was that there is no great rush in Test cricket with five days to play. The longer we occupy the crease, the more pressure we can put on them and more spells they will have to bowl. We saw towards the end of Day Five (of the first Test) once the boys went into their third and fourth spells it gets a bit easier to bat. So our main focus is if you have a good day make it a great day, pretty simple, but that's Test cricket.