After two washed out matches, Australia now need to win the sixth ODI at Nagpur to seal the series. With a 2-1 lead the visitors are in an advantageous position as the two teams get ready to face off under the clear blue skies at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on October 30.
Speaking to the media after sweating it out in the practice session, Australia’s left-arm spinner, Xavier Doherty said, “We have come here to win this game. We are not worried too much about the Bangalore match at the moment. We are worried about winning this game and wrapping it up on Wednesday. We have played some pretty good cricket. From a spectator's point of view it's been a pretty good series so far and a good one to play in.
“We have another training day tomorrow to wrap things up and hit the ground running on Wednesday with an eye towards sealing it right here and now.”
“We don't want to save it until the last game to make it sudden death. From India’s point of view they need to win this one to stay alive. It is pretty crucial for them,” he added
Talking about the pressure that India would be facing, the spinner said, “You'd rather be in our position than theirs. There's probably a fraction more pressure on them but it's whoever comes out better on the day will take that advantage going into the last game. Hopefully it's us with a series win,” he stated.
One of the key players for Australia as they look to take an unassailable lead in the series is fast bowler Mitchell Johnson. Speaking about the ace pacer’s fitness and availability for the crucial match, Doherty said, “He bowled fast enough for me not to want to go into his net, I can tell you that much. I had the option (of going into his net) and I chose not to. I faced the spinners for 20 minutes. There's no issue with Mitch. He bowled for 30 minutes, and then (for) another 15 extra at the end. There is absolutely no issue. I would imagine he will be in our lineup on Wednesday.”
Discussing Johnson’s impact on the series, Doherty added, “From my point of view he has been the stand-out bowler from both teams. He's the guy that we go to anytime we need a wicket or restrict the runs. He's got that extra pace. He's 10-15 yards quicker than anyone else playing in this series. On wickets with any sort of grass he's a real weapon for us. I know there has been a lot of runs scored and a lot of big scores, but from my point of view Mitch has been the man of the series so far.”
The left-arm spinner himself has been wicket-less in the series so far, with an economy rate of 5.63 from three innings. Speaking about his own role of containing the batsman and his good statistics against MS Dhoni, Doherty said, “Stats can probably lie sometimes. I haven't bowled to him in the last five overs and I am sure that stat would change if I did because that's the way he goes about his innings. I guess that's the role for me, through the middle of the innings, to try and tie down whoever is batting and stack as many dots up as I can. Hopefully the wickets come either at my end or the other end. Bowling to MS ... he's one of the real power-hitters in world cricket. It's a great challenge. I would love to get his wicket at some stage in the next two games. It would be nice.”
Explaining the plight of the bowlers in the high-scoring series, Doherty said, “It's been a battle for all bowlers, not just spinners. I was chatting to the media in Australia before I left and I did say I was expecting some spinning wickets as we got in the Test series here.
“In Ranchi it was spinning a little bit. It looks like the spinners might play a bit more of a role here as well. But it has been pretty tough going for all bowlers. From my point of view it's just been about locking down and trying to get out of my ten overs as best I can and build that pressure and try and get the wickets either at my end or the other end. It has been pretty tough though.”
