Time to fight fire with fire: Rohit Sharma

The famous rivalry set to resurface, India’s star batsman Rohit Sharma says the upcoming limited overs series against Australia Down Under will be a case of “fighting fire with fire”.

The five-ODI and three-T20 series begins here on January 12 and both Australia and India, after enjoying big wins against lacklustre West Indies and South Africa in their previous Test assignments respectively, are keen to get going in the shorter formats of the game.

“It will be a case of fighting fire with fire. Both teams have a history against each other and are highly charged up wanting to get results in their favour,” Rohit told ‘bcci.tv’.

Coming off a big Test series win over South Africa, Rohit believed the transition from the five-day format to ODIs wouldn’t be very difficult.

“For me the transition between formats just goes with the flow. As professional cricketers we have been switching formats for a long time and we are used to it by now. It is just about staying in the right frame of mind. It is very important to understand what your strengths and weaknesses are and prepare accordingly. Preparations are key for any format. The Mumbai batsman recalled the team’s last tour of this country.

“The last series that we played here (in 2014) was very closely contested. Although the result didn’t go our way, we fought right till the end. We played some good and positive cricket, which is exactly what we want to do this time as well,” he said.

Rohit, whose first tour Down Under was way back in 2008 when he batted alongside Sachin Tendulkar and scored a patient half-century in an all-important CB series final, made two more visits here, the last being the 2015 World Cup.

“Having been here before, you do get to know what to expect from the opposition. Australia is an opposition who do not give anything away easily. As a side playing against them, you have to grind your way and test yourself in the middle. Nothing comes easy here; you have to earn every run.

“As a cricketer it is very exciting to face and thrive on such challenges. What you do to conquer them and come out winning will be a real test of your character. People appreciate your performances here and putting up notable contributions will do a world of good,” Rohit said.

“We have got close to a week’s time here before we play our first ODI. We do know what to expect from the conditions at Perth. I have played some cricket here in the past. I will be trying to get into the groove and would be looking to get my positions right.

“Getting my basics right will top my list. I will try to be a bit innovative and see what would work for me. It is an exciting venue and you get a lot of value for your shots with a bit of bounce and carry off the pitch,” he added.