Steve Smith, Australia Test vice-captain shared his thoughts on India’s bowling plans against him last summer. Steve Smith said that India’s pace-bowling attack outsmarted him in the first two games before he scored a hundred in the third Test.
India’s bowlers restricted Steve Smith’s run-scoring by bowling straighter lines and not giving him width during the closely contested four-match Test series eventually won by visitors India. The visiting captain also employed packed leg-side fields to prevent Steve Smith from settling in at the crease.
Steve Smith Wasn’t Too Surprised With The Way India Bowled Last Summer
Steve Smith said that he wasn’t too surprised by India’s tactics, and felt that the visitors were successful in drying the runs off his bat. It was the last Test series Australia played after the South Africa tour and Afghanistan one-off Test cancellation. Steve Smith was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin 3 times. He scored only 10 runs in the 4 innings in the 1st two Tests before scoring 131,81, 36, and 55.
He said in this regard: “I wasn’t too surprised with the way India came at me last summer. It was more about just trying to stop me scoring for a lot of the time – they were just trying to ‘out-patient’ me, in a way, and I think they probably got the better of me in the first couple of Tests, and then I got going in Sydney, where I actually started to bat a bit better as well.”
Steve Smith, ranked second in the Test batting standings, could not live up to his lofty standards as Australia suffered a series loss at home to India. The New South Wales batter averaged 44.71 in four Tests, scoring 313 runs. He finished behind Marnus Labuschagne who scored 426 runs averaging 53.25.
But the Australian spin bowler Nathan Lyon didn’t live up to expectations picking only 9 wickets in 4 Tests averaging a high 55.11 as an injury-ravaged Team India took full advantage and won the series 2-1. Pacer Mitchell Starc too failed to do well, picking 11 wickets averaging a high 40.73.
Steve Smith: Being Able To Adapt Is Most Important
Steve Smith, who is set to face England in the upcoming Ashes 2021/22 series, feels confident of dealing with their bowling attack after tweaking his batting technique slightly. He aims to adapt and constantly improve as bowlers formulate new plans against him.
“I think I’ve got my game pretty well set now, and then I think there’s just minor tweaks that need to come in place depending on who I’m playing against, where I’m playing and what’s coming at me,” said Steve Smith.
“Being able to adapt is the most important thing for me in terms of longevity; people come up with different plans – different fields, different ways of attacking you – and it’s up to you to be good enough to counter what comes at you. That for me is what I try and improve each day – just my thought process on how I want to go about it.”