Australian Glenn Maxwell reminds India: You haven't beaten us all summer

Sydney: Watching Australia’s Glenn Maxwell talk is somewhat like his batting - he can be ruthless yet entertaining.

Thanks to Australian media management, Maxwell was readily made available on his arrival in Sydney. It was his unbeaten 44 and two wickets against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on Friday that played a prominent role in Australia’s victory and entry into the semi-final.

When asked about India’s strength, his forthright answer was: “India wouldn’t be here in the semi-finals if they weren’t a good side. We have to bring our A game when we play them this week.”

When asked whether India-Australia is a 50-50 contest, Maxwell shot back: “What are the bookmakers saying?

“I think we targeted them pretty well this summer. They haven’t won a game against us all summer, hopefully we can make the most of that factor. Hopefully, that is pretty clear in their memories too. We’ve been dominant all summer in the one-day format and hopefully, we can continue that.”

One of the most valuable players of the last edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Maxwell was asked whether familiarity with bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja can help his team. “The IPL is a bit different to the World Cup. It is different pressure and different situations. I bat at No.6 and there are still five guys ahead of me who are going to be batting first. Hopefully, they can make the most of the conditions. My job is to finish it off.”

Will the semi-final will be a contest between Australia’s bowling and Indian batting? “I think it is batting and bowling versus the batting and bowling,” pat came the answer.

When an Indian journalist asked whether India-Australia contest is the biggest rivalry, be bluntly said: “There are a lot of big rivalries in international cricket; every team that we play against is like some sort of rivalry or history. I still think for Australia, we have got the Ashes which is still probably our biggest and oldest rivalry.”

To a query on how it was to play the tennis shot against Wahab Riaz, he said: “I have practised them. Remember you spend most of your net sessions facing Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood so you have to find ways of avoiding them or hit them. I have been doing my best to try and practice it. I have practised that shot a lot in the nets.”

Maxwell hailed both the captains under whom he had played in this World Cup - Michael Clarke and George Bailey. “Clarke has been an outstanding leader and he is a superstar batsman. Having him in our team has always been great for us and it is going to be the same in the semi-final and hopefully in the final.”

On Bailey, Maxwell said: “You do feel bad for the guys who miss out, not just Bailey. We have got an extremely talented side. I guess it shows the depth of the whole squad that we have four quality guys sitting on the bench at the moment. You can’t obviously fit in all XV.”