Ready for Australia's pace challenge, says Rohit Sharma.

[iSK]

New Delhi: Gearing up for the pace
test that awaits India in Australia
come December, batsman Rohit
Sharma said the likes of Mitchell
Johnson and Peter Siddle would be a
tough challenge to deal with but the
Indians are no longer intimidated by
bouncy tracks Down Under.

"Australia will be a challenging tour
for us. Mentally, each and every
cricketer have a different way of
preparing or doing their respective
homework for a tour. I am no
different and I will also have my
plans in place as we come nearer to
the time of the tour," Rohit told PTI
in an interview.

"Facing the likes of Mitchell Johnson,
Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris will be a
stern test. But we have faced Dale
Steyn, More Morkel in South Africa.
We have played on bouncy as well as
seaming pitches in South Africa, New
Zealand and England in the past one
year.

"Also, most of us have been to
Australia before and know what to
expect from pitches out there. Also it
will be a good preparation for us
before the World Cup, next year," he
explained.

The tour includes four Test matches
starting December 4 in Brisbane. The
series' other games will be played in
Adelaide (December 12 to 16),
Melbourne (December 26 to 30) and
Sydney (January 3 to 7).
After a break, the ODI tri-series will
start on January 16, the finale of
which will take place on February 1
in Perth.

Rohit has been more consistent as a
batsman after he started opening the
batting for India in the ODIs and he
admitted as much.

"Opening the batting for India
changed me as a player. My
perspective on building an innings
has improved tremendously since I
started opening the batting. I believe
I have become a better overall
cricketer once I started opening the
batting," said Rohit.
READ MORE Ready for Australia's pace challenge, says Rohit Sharma