After having upset the apple-cart on Sunday, a buoyant Australian side is hoping to cause one last upset in the final One-Day International (ODI) contest at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Tuesday.
Australia’s comeback after defeats in the first two ODIs — neither of which were one-sided — hasn’t surprised Alex Carey, the vice-captain and wicketkeeper.
Speaking to the media ahead of the series finale, Carey said, “We were put under pressure early in the series. Now, to have the series level at 2-2, it’s obviously exciting going into tomorrow with the series on the line.
The boys are feeling confident; we know they are going to bounce back quickly from that, but for us, I though we’re playing some really good cricket in the first two games but we just fell short so to have the series at 2-2 is really exciting.”
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“As a player in the Australian cricket side, we have been working hard. [In] the last 12-18 months, success is starting to come our way. We’re really confident moving forward with the squad we take to the World Cup.
We have got tomorrow to focus on. We’re really confident going into tomorrow. Bringing the series back to 2-2; it’s really exciting. It’s pressure cricket and it’s something I’m really looking forward to. I’m sure the boys are,” he added.
The series would have been decided by now had middle-order batsman Ashton Turner not played a match-winning knock on Sunday, in Mohali.
Striking big in the death overs during his team’s chase of 359 in 50 overs, he scored an unbeaten 84 off 43 deliveries in a four-wicket victory.
A last-minute replacement for the injured Marcus Stoinis, Turner’s sparkling performance has given a “good selection headache” for the team management for the final ODI, Carey conceded.
“I’m not sure [whether Stoinis is fully fit]. He’s going to train today. We’ll see if he’s fit after the session but he’s a great cricketer. He’s had great success in the past. It’s a really good selection headache to have, I think. And Ashton Turner coming in the last minute and performing like he did [was great]. It’s a good headache to have,” Carey said.
Carey admitted the side had worked hard to succeed against spin bowling, and credited it for standing up to the mighty Indian bowling attack, including Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in Mohali.
“We take a lot of confidence that we trust our batters that are in to perform their role and Ashton did that the other night. He was the in batter and he took on the quicks at the death and he did really well.
They’re world-class bowlers; I’m sure they are going to bounce back again and it’s up to our batsmen to have a game-plan to negate that so we trust our players to go out there and perform their role and take on some of the best bowlers in the world and do a good job,” Carey said.
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