We will be fighting fire with fire: Rohit

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 are 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 middle.