The M Chinnaswamy stadium holds a special place for David Warner. It was at this venue in 2016 that he led Sunrisers Hyderabad to their inaugural IPL title in 2016.
On Thursday, he is all set to play in his 100th ODI for Australia, joining a select group of individuals.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference, Warner stated that Australia have plenty to play for in the series.
“We have lot to play for. Our pride is at stake. We have to make the most of the remaining five games. You try to win the overall battle.
“Even though the series is lost, we still have two more ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals to turn the tour around,” Warner said.
Australia is facing a similar situation to what India faced in the 2016 series Down Under. After losing the first four ODIs, India clinched the Sydney ODI and clean-swept Australia 3-0 in the Twenty20 Internationals to end the four on a high.
Virat Kohli, who scored three consecutive fifties in the series, said, “We decided before the Sydney ODI that we want to finish the tour 4-all. This was because we played so well earlier but didn’t get on the board,” Kohli had said.
‘Test cricket key’
David Warner has been enjoying a magnificent run of form in ODIs for the last 18 months. Ever since the India series in January 2016, he has slammed 1556 runs in 28 games at an average of close to 60 with eight centuries.
His tally of seven centuries last year established a record. The left-hander attributes his great run in ODIs to Test match cricket.
“Playing Test match cricket has allowed to me to play the game properly and has showed me that there is a lot more time in 50-over cricket than in T20 cricket.