Aaron Finch is confident Australia's redefined approach to aggressive cricket will pack a punch when they welcome India to the Gabba on Wednesday - the only catch is that they'll have to play well to do it.
Finch's side was humbled by South Africa in a recent one-day series and one-off Twenty20, with Proteas' captain Faf du Plessis describing the hosts as "tame" to local journalists on his return.
Australia's short form captain disagreed with that perception, but admitted South Africa's dominance had made it difficult for them to assert themselves this summer.
"South Africa were all over us from the start of that series with the ball," Finch said on Tuesday.
"It's pretty hard to come out and have so much presence when they're so far ahead ... but I'm not sure about that (claim of being tame) to be honest."
Just five wins and a draw - including three T20 wins against Zimbabwe and the UAE - have come from Australia's 21 games across all formats since the ill-fated tour of South Africa.
Wednesday's Twenty20 opener in Brisbane will be followed by two more T20s, where Finch hopes they'll rediscover their strut before four Tests and three ODIs against the top-ranked Test nation.
"The verbal stuff is the easy stuff and gets a bit lost sometimes," Finch said.
"It's about your body language and presence on the ground, that's what Australia always prides itself on in all sport.
"It can change quickly. One innings with the bat or one spell or bit of brilliance in the field to turn a match and turn a series.
"This is an opportunity to play some aggressive, attacking cricket, take the game on and take it to India."
India have enjoyed success in the short forms on Australian shores but never won a Test series in the country.
With key batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner serving bans, captain Virat Kohli is doing his best to keep a lid on the hype but admits an element of unknown awaits.
"We haven't played against Australia after everything that happened (in South Africa) so I can't say what the atmosphere is going to be (like) on the ground," he said.
"There's no denying the quality they have in their side. They still have world class cricketers especially in the limited overs team, who can do damage at any given point in time."
Finch hinted that all-rounder Ashton Agar could come into the side, potentially forming an all-West Australian attack alongside Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Andrew Tye, Marcus Stoinis and D'Arcy Short.
Australian Associated Press
