'Haven't been 1-0 overseas in a while' – Cummins keen to make lead count

Cummins was in the thick of things in Visakhapatnam, hitting the winning runs off the last ball and just about knocking off the 14 runs they needed in the last over. He was unbeaten on 7 off three balls with one four.

"[Leading 1-0] hasn't happened for a while, especially overseas, especially in a place like India, which is so foreign to Australian conditions. [Winning] against one of the best sides in the world would be a huge result for us," he said on Tuesday, 26 February, ahead of the second T20I in Bengaluru.

Cummins fully expected India to fight back hard in the series, just as they had in the opening game. Australia's scramble at the death was thanks to a collapse from 89/3, when Glenn Maxwell was dismissed, to 113/7 in a chase of India's modest 126/7.

"We thought we had the game sewn up last time, and like all the really good sides, they just fought their way back. We know [Wednesday] night, we have to play really well. They're going to come back and play really well like they always do.

"Let's see how we go, but to be one-up in an away series, we haven't been in this position for a while, so it's great."

Heroic as the last-over comeback was, Cummins had come into the shortest format with almost no practice in white-ball cricket. He last played an ODI for Australia in November 2018 and since then has played six Tests, walking away as the No.1-ranked bowler on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings.

Cummins is happy with where he is at. "Really happy with how my game is going," he said. "So many things have fallen into place. Obviously, there is a bit of luck as well. I am playing consistent cricket and I am able to concentrate well on my skills and have got a lot of confidence.

"I haven't played too much white-ball cricket and I am looking forward to the challenge. I have got lots to learn, like taking wickets in white-ball cricket and bowling in the death overs.

"But yes, I couldn't have been more happy [with] how I have been performing and I have been able to concentrate on my skills and bowl without having to worry about anything else."

Australia have a five-match ODI series that follows the T20I series in India before they fly to the UAE to play Pakistan in five ODIs in what will be their last assignment before the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019.

While conditions in India and the UAE are vastly different from those in England and Wales, the hosts of the World Cup, Cummins believes playing cricket anywhere in the world makes for "good preparation."

"In some regards, the conditions are obviously going to be different here than in the World Cup," he said. "But there's a lot of games at the World Cup, so at the back of our minds, we think by the end of the World Cup, the wickets might be a bit more tired and might spin a bit more like the Indian wickets.

"As bowlers, if we can take wickets here in the middle overs against a good batting line-up, in wickets that are probably that are not bowler-friendly, it will put us in good shape for the World Cup."