Australia have the edge over India, Steve Smith believes
All-rounder says the fact tourists did not win during summer tour against hosts will play on their mind going into World Cup semi-final
Steve Smith piled up a lot of runs against India leading into the World Cup, and reckons the defending champions still have a few scars from their underwhelming tour against Australia.
The teams meet again in a World Cup semi-final on Thursday, with India on a seven-match winning streak that started with a 76-run win over arch-rival Pakistan on February 15.
They didn't beat us once. So I think that's going to be playing on their mind a little bit
That's of no great concern to Smith, who says, "I think we'll have a little edge over them with a few scars from the matches throughout the summer", when India failed to win a competitive match.
"They didn't beat us once," the 25-year-old right-hander said. "So I think that's going to be playing on their mind a little bit."
Four-time champion and top-ranked Australia lost to co-host New Zealand by a wicket in a low-scoring group match to finish second in pool A, but otherwise have been dominant in a southern summer that included a test series win over India and limited-overs tri-series title against India and England. India didn't win a game in the tri-series.
Smith was Australia's premier batsman in the test series and finished up as captain when Michael Clarke was injured. He scored 162 not out and 52 not out in the first test, and added 133, 192 and 117 in Australia's first innings in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to finish the series with 769 runs. He scored 47 in his only ODI innings against India in the triseries.