Australia
captain Steve Smith is worried about his team’s failure to convert
potentially winning positions into victories after losing the one-day
international series against India.
The visitors went down to the
Virat Kohli-led side by five wickets in Indore on Sunday after opener
Aaron Finch had blasted 124 to give Australia the edge.
“We’re quite
often getting ourselves into good positions and we’re not taking
advantage of those, and today was no different,” Smith said after the
defeat that left his side trailing 3-0 in the five-match series.
“We
continually address it and it’s just hard to put the finger on exactly
what it is we’re doing or not doing to get the results we’re after,” he
added.
Despite Finch’s knock, Australia ended on 293-6, too small a
score to defend at the batting-friendly Holkar Stadium. This was not the
first time the visitors had let India off the hook in the series. In
the opening match India were at one stage 87-5 but posted a
match-winning 281-7.
“It’s been a bit of a trend for this format and
the Test format as well,” said a worried Smith. Australia have won just
three out of 17 matches across all three formats since a one-day series
victory at home against Pakistan in January.
The current defeat was
Australia’s 11th loss in their past 13 ODIs away from home – a worrying
trend for the team that is two months away from a home Ashes series
against England.
“It’s a different format (the Ashes) but I’d
certainly like to start winning some games of cricket in every format,
to be honest,” said Smith.
“We’ve got to start winning games of
cricket. We’ve lost 11 of our past 13 games we’ve played away with two
no results, so that’s pretty ordinary. And not good enough from an
Australian cricket team.
“So we need to start turning those results
around and winning some games of cricket,” he said. Former Australia
fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz defended the team’s miserable run in
India, saying it takes time adapting to sub-continent conditions.
The
visitors, who drew a tough Test series in Bangladesh 1-1 before the
latest one-day games, were undone by India’s wrist spinners – with their
batting faltering at crucial moments.
“In these conditions you
expect the Indian players to be the best... it’s a case of adapting your
skills to suit the conditions here and it takes time,” Kasprowicz said
in New Delhi.
“It’s difficult, because the conditions are so different from what we get in Australia, so that’s part of the adjustment.
“Obviously
that’s something that you have got to do better and obviously with the
Australian coaching team and with the staff around they will be doing
that,” Kasprowicz, a Cricket Australia member, added.
Injured Agar to miss last two India ODIs
Spinner
Ashton Agar has broken his finger and will miss the remaining two
one-day internationals against India, Cricket Australia said yesterday.
The left-arm spinner injured his right little finger while fielding
during the third ODI on Sunday.
“Following the conclusion of the
match he went for X-rays which have confirmed a fracture of the finger,”
team doctor Richard Saw said in a statement. “He will return home to
Australia and consult a specialist with a possibility of surgery.”
Agar,
23, was not included for the opening match against India in Chennai. In
the next two games, he took two wickets while conceding 125 runs.
The
selectors have not asked for a replacement in the 14-member Australian
squad for the matches in Bangalore and Nagpur on Thursday and Sunday.
The teams will also play a three-match Twenty20 series starting October
7.
Australia’s captain Steven Smith reacts after losing the third ODI game. (Reuters)