Sydney: Australian opener Aaron Finch has said that the signs were always there that the ODI title fight between India and Australia was going to go the distance and be a `thriller`.
Initially derided as an inconvenient obligation, which threatened to derail Australia`s Ashes preparations, it is now being hailed as the saviour to the one-day format after back-to-back thrilling contests.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Finch said that the game is `one versus two in the world`, adding that he believes the way that both teams are playing one-day cricket these days is very entertaining to watch.
The report mentioned that victory in the Ranchi ODI would give Australia a 3-1 series lead and go a long way towards maintaining their excellent one-day record in the subcontinent, despite their Test failings in India.
Stating that he believes that the next two ODIs are going to be interesting, Finch said that Australia has a real opportunity to go 3-1 up in India, adding that his team has come with a lot of confidence from the limited-overs series against England after the summer Ashes.
Despite heavy rain falling in the evenings, Finch expects to face a slower, lower pitch in Ranchi, which is more in line with the conditions in Pune in game one than the harder, faster wickets on offer in Jaipur and Mohali, saying that he does not expect the pitch to be much different from when he played there in the Indian Premier League ( IPL ) this year.
