NEW DELHI: Australia's wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey expressed optimism about their batting unit's preparation, particularly in dealing with India's premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah before the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide.
Bumrah demonstrated exceptional prowess with the new ball on Perth's grass-covered pitch. Australia's technically sound top-order batters found themselves challenged by Bumrah's distinctive bowling action and persistent wicket-taking ability.
Bumrah secured the Man of the Match award with impressive match figures of 9/72, averaging 9.00. As the teams transitioned to Adelaide, Carey recognised the significance of handling this 'fantastic bowler'.
"He (Bumrah) is obviously a fantastic bowler; he has been for a number of years. Our batters are world-class as well and always find ways to come up with solutions," Carey told reporters.
The Australian game plan against Bumrah centres on weathering his initial two spells with the new ball.
"We've had a look at him now. Hopefully, we can combat that first and second spell and get him bowling a little bit deeper in the innings with an older ball," Carey stated.
Carey highlighted Travis Head's aggressive 89-run innings against Bumrah and the Indian pace attack with the older ball as an effective approach to neutralise India's formidable seam bowling.
"We saw Travis sort of counterpunch a bit. I trust our batters. We'll find a way not only (against) Bumrah... they played a couple of other debutants who bowled well too," Carey observed.
The Australian squad maintains high spirits despite entering the day-night Test after a substantial 295-run loss.
"If you ask the batters, we all want to perform better. As cricketers, you go out there to score a hundred, and if you don't, you're sometimes disappointed. But we're a very united group. We all get the opportunity to bat, and we're all eager to put big runs on the board. I trust the guys to do that," Carey mentioned.
With India holding a 1-0 series advantage, Australia seek to reverse their fortunes and recreate their 2020 pink-ball success against the visitors in the second Test, commencing Friday.
