Saker pleased with bowling in last ten overs

David Saker, the stand-in coach for Australia, was a relieved man after his side finally beat India in a One-Day International, the fourth one in Bangalore on Thursday (September 28), by 21 runs.

Steven Smith's men rode on Aaron Finch and David Warner's record 231-run first-wicket stand to post a massive 335-run target for India before the pacers picked up six wickets to stop the chase at 313 for 8.

“Yeah, it was nice to win,” offered Saker. “I think we had some opportunities in the first two games to probably get one win but we didn't. And against an opponent like this you've to really play well and when the opportunities come up, you've to seize them. We didn't do that.

“To be fair, today it wasn't one of our great performances – I thought we batted well up to the 43rd over. We may have given some runs out there but we bowl better than that. But we ended up getting the points, which for me is a relief. But the boys in there are really happy as they've got something out of it.”

After the batsmen did their job, it was Australia's pacers who picked up wickets at crucial times to not allow any Indian player to score really big runs. Kane Richardson, in particular, led the pack with three wickets and found good support from Nathan Coulter-Nile and Pat Cummins.

“I think we took wickets at the really important times, which was crucial,” agreed Saker. “The game at times was slipping away from us but when it was, we took a wicket, which put the pressure back on the Indian team. I thought our last ten overs was particularly good. The rest of the innings we didn't bowl as well as we could. I thought we held our nerves at the end.

“We all know they have some dangerous hitters and when (MS) Dhoni came in, it was about some 15 runs per over but those were still the nervous times. We held our nerves. Kane Richardson was outstanding at the back-end of the game. And Pat Cummins. So the last ten overs was pleasing.”

Before this game, Australia's last win in an ODI overseas came in Ireland a shade over a year ago. Since then Australia lost 5-0 in South Africa and 2-0 in New Zealand before going on to have a winless Champions Trophy 2017 campaign.

By losing its first three matches in India, Australia lost the series to India, and Saker felt there was still a lot of improvement needed on Australia’s part to win away from home.

“There have been days where we have bowled well but haven't batted well, and vice versa,” he pointed out. “I think today we batted well as a set-up. The way we started with the ball was disappointing. We set a high standard for ourself with the ball. There's nothing really that you can put a finger on but we have to keep thinking about how to get better overseas. At the moment, that's just not good enough.

“For a team with the talent we have got, we need to get better. There's no bigger challenge than coming to India. This Indian side ... their fielding is exceptional, they have got some really powerful hitters and their bowling attack, they have a got a lot of reserves. To win over here is probably as hard as anywhere in the world.”

Speaking about Adam Zampa, the legspinner who got back his place in the playing XI after Ashton Agar injured the little finger in his right hand and had to fly back home, Saker said it was Agar's better control over the game that had helped him edge over Zampa in the previous two matches.

“We just thought we needed a bit of a change because when we picked Ashton we thought Ashton can control the game a little bit better than Adam,” explained Saker. “But Zamps is a really good wicket-taker and quite an aggressive bowler. We thought we wanted someone a little bit more defensive. He came in today and bowled some really good balls and good stuff for us. Against (Hardik) Pandya, who is a dangerous hitter, if you get it a little bit wrong, he hits you out of the park. It's a learning curve for him, and for all of us bowling to him. He is a very good talent and he particularly likes to play against spin, by the looks of it.”