| Australia v India, ICC World Cup |
|---|
| Venue: The Oval Date: Sunday, 9 June Time: 10:30 BST |
| Coverage: Live Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. Text commentary on BBC Sport website, plus desktop, tablets, mobiles and app. |
The return to form of “best in the world” Steve Smith and “destructive” David Warner is a boost before Sunday’s World Cup match against India, says Australia captain Aaron Finch.
The pair were both banned for a year after ball-tampering but Smith and Warner scored key runs as the defending champions won their opening two games.
“To have them back is great for the side and our batting,” said Finch.
“It’s a great help for me as a leader, in terms of tactics out on the field.”
Finch claimed “Steve is the best batter in the world, over all three forms of the game”, despite India captain Virat Kohli topping the one-day and Twenty20 rankings.
| Smith v Kohli | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test runs | Test average | ODI runs | ODI average | T20I runs | T20I average | |
| Smith | 6199 | 61.37 | 3522 | 41.92 | 431 | 21.55 |
| Kohli | 6613 | 53.76 | 10861 | 59.34 | 2263 | 50.28 |
And on Warner, he added: “David is so destructive at the top of the order, his record shows how destructive he is.”
Warner hit an unbeaten 89 in a seven-wicket victory over Afghanistan, while Smith scored 73 against West Indies in a narrow 15-run win.
Australia go into the match buoyed by coming from 2-0 down to beat Kohli’s side 3-2 in a recent one-day series in India.
That followed a 5-0 victory over Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates; completing a stunning return to form after a difficult 2018.
“I think winning the last three games was really important for us in India, to get some self-belief that we can beat this Indian side in their home conditions,” said Finch.
