Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Smith warns his team that India have weapons other than spin

Australia were undone by spin in the first one-day international but skipper Steve Smith has warned his side need to be ready for India's other bowling weapons.

The tourists were frustrated by wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, who took five wickets between them, to go down by 26 runs as they chased a rain-shortened target of 164 in 21 overs.

Australia had brought in local bowler KK Jiyas ahead of Sunday's (17) game to practise facing a left-arm wrist spinner and Smith said the performance in Chennai was disappointing but that his side have got to be ready for more.


"We certainly haven't just been focusing on wrist spin. We've been facing our fast bowlers in the nets and other net bowlers as well," Smith said.

"There hasn't just been that focus on spin bowling, that's for sure. India have some quality seamers as well," he added.

It was fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya who rattled the Australian top order before the spinners moved in.

Leg-spinner Chahal and Yadav also slipped in a few knuckle balls - bowled with fingertips and released in a way to reduce any kind of rotation on the ball - for shock value.

Smith insisted there were no surprises in the game, as Australia had prepared for all challenges.

"The guys knew what they were going to come with before this game. Everyone had seen the footage and watched a bit of the series in Sri Lanka where they bowled quite a few (knuckle balls)," said Smith.

"It wasn't any surprise to us. Batting for 20 overs is difficult when you're losing wickets and trying to go quite hard.

"It didn't work out as we would have liked but we've got to turn things around in a couple of days' time in Kolkata," he added.

Smith also believes Australia spinner Adam Zampa has to respond, after taking a beating against Pandya whose 83-run blitz took India to 281-7 in 50 overs.

Pandya smashed the leg spinner for a four and three successive sixes in one over to bring up his third ODI fifty.

Zampa did make Pandya his only wicket of the innings. But the bowler's 10 overs cost 66 runs.

"I guess the message to Zampa as well was to try and bring his length back a little bit. He was bowling very full and Hardik looked like hitting every one of those for six," said Smith.

"As soon as he got his length back a little bit and made him go across the ball he got him out."

Chahal, who returned impressive figures of 3-30 in his five overs, felt there is no added expectation on the Indian spinners in such a high-profile series.

"No pressure as such. We don't think a lot about what's happening. We go by the situation of the wicket and since both of us are attacking, we go for wickets.

"Wrist spinners are mostly attacking and when your captain is so attacking you get more freedom to attack," he added.

The teams travel to Eden Gardens in Kolkata for the second ODI on Thursday (21).

More For You

Instagram Restricts Top Pakistani Artists in India Over Tensions

Pakistani stars Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan among celebrities whose Instagram profiles are now blocked in India

Getty Images

Instagram blocks profiles of Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in India amid rising tensions

The Instagram profiles of Pakistani celebrities like Fawad Khan, Atif Aslam, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan are no longer accessible in India. This development comes just weeks before Fawad’s planned Bollywood return with Abir Gulaal and follows a series of social media restrictions tied to the worsening India–Pakistan relationship.

When Indian fans try to view the artists' Instagram pages, they’re met with a message: "Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content." No official clarification has come from either the Indian government or Meta, but the timing is significant. The move comes days after a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam region killed 26 people, most of them tourists. It was one of the deadliest attacks since the 2008 Mumbai carnage.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hajj pilgrims cautioned over meningitis and MERS bug

Hajj and Umrah pilgrims are required to show proof of a valid MenACWY vaccination when arriving in Saudi Arabia

iStock

Hajj pilgrims cautioned over meningitis and MERS bug

BRITAIN’s health security agency has urged pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj or Umrah to get vaccinated against meningococcal disease, following a small number of recent cases in the country linked to travel.

Between February and March, five people in England and Wales developed MenW, a type of meningococcal infection, after either visiting Saudi Arabia or having close contact with someone who had, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.

Keep ReadingShow less
cricket representational

The ECB said its recreational cricket regulations had always aimed to make the sport inclusive.

iStock

Trans women banned from playing women's cricket in England and Wales

TRANSGENDER women have been banned from playing in women’s and girls’ cricket in England and Wales following a policy change announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday.

The ECB’s decision follows a UK Supreme Court ruling last month which stated that the legal definition of a "woman" is based on a person’s sex at birth and does not include transgender women who hold a gender recognition certificate.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lancashire bats for Indian
board to join The Hundred

The Indian cricket board currently does not allow its men’s players to participate in any overseas T20 leagues, including The Hundred

Lancashire bats for Indian board to join The Hundred

THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) should offer the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a minority ownership stake in The Hundred to attract Indian players to the competition, Lancashire CEO Daniel Gidney has suggested.

“I think it’s possible. If I was the ECB, I’d be talking about perhaps bringing the BCCI in as a minority ownership partner in the tournament as a whole. If you do that, then you are aligning interests,” Gidney told the ESPNCricinfo website.

Keep ReadingShow less
Why strengthening UK-India bonds ‘is personal’ for Nandy

Lisa Nandy and Vikram Doraiswami

Why strengthening UK-India bonds ‘is personal’ for Nandy

LISA NANDY has said the UK hopes to forge a “closer cultural partnership” with India after she returns from her first trip to Mumbai and New Delhi as secretary of state for culture, media and sport from Thursday (1) to Sunday (4).

She made the promise at a reception hosted jointly last week by her department and the High Commission of India at the St James Court Taj Hotel in central London.

Keep ReadingShow less