Swann says Eng players to invoke ‘spirit of Sydney’ to finish off India in Nagpur Test

London: England off spinner Graeme Swann has claimed his teammates will invoke the spirit of Sydney, when they performed brilliantly to beat Australia in the final Test despite already claiming the Ashes, to try and beat India in the final Test match at Nagpur even with an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series. At 2-1 up with one to play England are in the same situation in Nagpur as they were Down Under two years ago and they are aiming for the same result.

There was no sitting back on any laurels for England and there was just another assault on the Australian ramparts at their most inspirational home. England don’t just want to settle for a draw this week, they want the sort of series win that their cricket has deserved and that means 3-1 and a win of epic proportions. “Arguably our best victory in Australia was that last one in Sydney because we had already retained the Ashes,” the Daily Mirror quoted Swann, as saying. “It would have been very easy to just lose in the last game but we managed to pull out our best game of the tour there and win 3-1. It’s a lot more satisfying to finish the job off,” he added. “We came out here to win the series and that’s still what we’re trying to do. We’ll approach the game thinking attack is our best form of defence,” he said. Swann added: “From what I remember, Andrew Strauss just sat us down and said the importance of how much hard work we had put in on that trip would be wasted if the series ended up at 2-2. It worked for us over there and it’s a good attitude to take in.” “It is tough but sometimes it’s a good position to be in. If there’s only one possible result you can get you can go all out fighting,” Swann said. “It all comes down to the last game, and these are the ones that are usually exciting. India will come out fighting because they have to win,” he added. ANI