On the eve of his side's fourth ODI against Australia at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on Wednesday said that the Men in Blue might have taken a lead in the five-match series, but they are gunning for a 5-0 whitewash.
India continued their rich vein of form against the depleted Steve Smith-led side as they beat the visiting sides by five wickets in Indore to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
But the 27-year-old said that India are not going to take the upcoming matches lightly and aim for their ultimate target i.e a whitewash.
"I am not aware of any changes. That decision is normally taken on the day of the match. Although we have won the series, we are gunning for a 5-0 whitewash. We may be leading 3-0, we will not take it easy, because our ultimate target is a whitewash," Yuzvendra told the reporters.
Explaining the reason behind his side's edge over Australia in the series, Yuzvendra said, "Well, our spinners have taken 13 wickets as compared to the Australian spinners. We have used the conditions much better than them. That is our plus point. Adam Zampa is the only wrist spinner in the team and he is not featuring in the team consistently."
When quizzed how he had developed such a strong chemistry with spinner Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra said that the duo always have plans going into the match and that they also discuss how the wickets will behave and what ball to bowl prior to the match.
"I know him for a very long time. We have played with each other a lot. If I bowl first, then I tell him that the wicket is providing this kind of assistance. If he bowls first, then he tells me that the wicket is offering turn and that this is the right area to bowl to a certain batsmen. The combination is good. Before the match, we discuss how the wickets will behave. We also discuss what ball to bowl to which batsmen. We always have plans," he said.
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Yujvendra and Kuldeep have together bagged 12 wickets in the three ODIs they have played so far.
Meanwhile, Australian opener David Warner is all set to play his 100th ODI, and Yujvendra said that India are planning to get him out quickly so that in the middle overs, they could maintain the pressure.
"He (Warner) is Australia's key player. When he settles in, he can play the big knock. Although Aaron Finch scored a century in Indore, Warner is the most dangerous player. He has experience playing in the IPL and his mindset is to attack. If he plays 40-50 balls, he can score 70-80 runs. Our main aim is to get Warner out quickly so that in the middle overs, we can maintain the pressure," Yujvendra concluded.
Earlier in the day, Warner had brushed aside the idea that the implementation of International Cricket Council's (ICC) new rule, which puts hard-line size restrictions on bats, will have any impact on his game.
The Australian vice-captain is among 10 batsmen worldwide who have had to give their bats a shave as the game seeks to address a perceived disadvantage for bowlers.
As per the new playing conditions announced by the ICC recently, there will restriction in the size of the edges of the bats as well as their thickness in order to maintain the balance between bat and ball.
The restriction on the length and width of bats remain unchanged but the thickness of the edges can't be more than 40mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at the most. Umpires will be issued with a new bat gauge, which they can use to check a bat's legality. The new rules will come into effect from September 28.