Ishant asserts focus on winning first Test series in Australia

Sydney: Indian pace spearhead, Ishant Sharma on Tuesday asserted that the focus for the upcoming Australia Tests would be on "winning the first ever series" Down Under as a team.

The 30-year old pacer said, "The biggest thing right now is to win the series and that's what everybody is focusing on right now," Ishant said ahead of the practice game at the SCG which is set to start on Wednesday (28 November). "We are not even thinking about personal performances. Just one aim that is to win a series in Australia".

"I think it's pretty serious for us (the practice game), because we have to set the tone. You know the conditions, obviously playing here after a long time. You need to get into the groove, get used to the conditions and I think it's a pretty important game for everyone", Ishant added.

"If you're representing the country the pressure is there, I think it's a great opportunity as well because you have a healthy competition in the team as you can see there a lot of fast bowlers coming up and if you are not doing well then any time you can sit behind and watch the game. I think it is a great opportunity for everyone to do well in any conditions as you can see we did well in the last two tours especially in South Africa and England as well", the Indian pacer said.

Inshant also underlined that the focus would for now be on making the "most out of the practice game" and not fuss too much over the combinations of the side. "I'm not really a kind of person who thinks about the past, I'm always looking forward to what's gonna happen in the future. So, I'm looking forward to do well in this tour", Ishant added.(UNI)