Coming to India and winning a Test series is on the top of the list for Australian talisman Steve Smith. It is known that winning a Test series in India is always an arduous task. Succeeding in India is never easy and only a few teams have beaten the potent Indian side in their own conditions. The Indian spinners are hard to play against and they mostly breathe down the neck of the opposition batsmen.
Furthermore, the Indian batters are good players of spin as they have grown up while playing on these turning tracks. Meanwhile, Steve Smith had come close to clinching a series in India when Australia had taken a 1-0 lead in Border-Gavaskar trophy back in 2017.
Smith, who was Australia’s skipper back then, had scored a fine hundred on a rank turner in Pune and had helped the visitors draw first blood. However, India had bounced back and won the next two out of the three Test matches to seal the series 2-1.
Smith believes India is a challenging place to play Test cricket and he would love to help Australia win a series there. India vs Australia is one of the biggest rivalries in cricket and Smith wants to give his best. India is presently the number one side in Test fold and they are a team to beat in home conditions.
“I would love to win a Test series in India,” Smith told New Zealand leg-spinner Ish Sodhi during a podcast organised by inaugural IPL champions Rajasthan Royals.
“I think as an Australian cricketer we talk about how Ashes is always big, the World Cup is big but I think now India is the no.1 team in the world and it is a very difficult place to play Test cricket, so I would love to win a series there,” he said.
Steven Smith has yielded great numbers while playing against India. The right-hander has scored 1429 runs at a scintillating average of 84.1 in the 20 innings he has played. Smith has come up with his best against Indian bowlers and it is hard to get him out especially if he gets his eye in.
Overall, Smith has scored 7202 runs in 133 innings at a fine average of 61.6. The linchpin is currently the number one Test batsman in the world and his numbers in the red-ball format are brilliant.
Written by: Gautam Chauhan
