New Delhi: Australia captain Pat Cummins is excited to take on hosts India, in their opening match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in Chennai on October 8, saying his team is pumped and will be ready to give their all to achieve success.
The marquee tournament will be held from October 5 to November 19. Ten teams feature in what will be the biggest Cricket World Cup ever, across 10 venues, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and final.
Australia are the most successful team in the World Cup, having won the last of their five titles in 2015.
The five-time World Champions will rely on their wealth of experience as they search for a sixth title against two-time winners India, who will be a challenging adversary at home.
“Everyone in the cricketing world draws their attention and focus on a World Cup, so we can’t wait to be in the middle of it. The Aussie team has had some success over recent years in ODI and T20 cricket, so we’ll be pumped to be there,” Cummins was quoted by the ICC website.
Cummins further said facing India on their home turf in a World Cup match poses a substantial test as the Men In Blue stand among the elite teams in the world.
“You know there’s going to be big crowds, but no bigger than playing India at home in a World Cup game, so that’s going to be exciting for us. It will be a huge challenge, they’re a top-class team, but if you want to win a World Cup, you’re going to have to be better than everyone else, so why not take on India straight up?
“Winning a World Cup is huge. Luckily enough a few of us have won an ODI World Cup and a T20 World Cup, so there’s lots of confidence in the group and a lot of experience as well. These are the kind of tournaments that at the end of your career, you look back on, so we’ll be there, pumped, and giving it everything.
“It’s a bit of a different group, we all get on really well, so we’re excited. We’ll have a lot of fun when we get over there and we can’t wait to get there,” he said.
The tournament retains the round-robin format of last time with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches.
The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals to be played in Mumbai on 15 November and in Kolkata on 16 November. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
(IANS)
