Brainstorming: Steve Smith with the coaches talk strategy ahead of the third Test at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy
Steve Smith is tough as nails. He has 8,718 runs at 60.12, often in difficult batting conditions. But then, in this series, even this great batter has shown he can suffer momentary lapses of reason.
Smith will quickly want to forget his horrendous attempted sweep in Delhi. Now, there is even greater responsibility on him. He is the stand-in captain, in the absence of Pat Cummins.
“It [captaincy] has come under difficult circumstances,” Smith admitted here on Tuesday. He elaborated, “Things haven’t gone to plan. We have not consolidated from good positions.”
On the pitch here, Smith said, “It’s pretty similar to the last two. It’s pretty dry at both ends from six metres down. I dare say it will take some reasonable spin. The key is sticking to our plans and methods for long periods of time. We went away from them.”
This warrior faces another challenge as the ball will turn, jump and skid through. Welcome to India!
