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Steve-Smith
Australian batsman Steve Smith roared back with an outstanding century against India on Day two of the third Test at Sydney. The middle-order batsman reached his 27th Test century in the 98th over. It was Steve Smith’s first Test hundred in 17 months and 15 innings. The elegant batsman finally ended his drought.
The 31-year-old scored his ton in 201 balls. Steve Smith’s fearless innings also included 13 boundaries. It was his 8th hundred against the Men in Blue. With this, Smith levelled Ricky Ponting’s record of scoring the most Test centuries against India. The Australian middle-order batsman has taken 25 innings to reach the landmark. Sobers got this feat in 30 innings whereas Richards needed 41 and Ponting 51.
Steve Smith also joins Virat Kohli, has joint-most Test centuries among current cricketers
The number four batsman had come into the third Test encounter with his back against the wall. He had scored just ten runs across the first two Tests. Steve Smith also admitted to his struggles against India’s ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
But after his dreadful performance in the earlier matches, he returned in to bat on Day 1 of the Sydney Test. The Aussie batsman looked assured at the crease. He was aggressive from the beginning, as he attacked the Indian bowling unit.
In contrast with the first two Test matches, Steve Smith seemed more confident early on. He started dealing in boundaries right from the start of day two. The end of the session was a dominating display of batting. Steve Smith was not permitting the Indian bowlers to get the better of him.
The batsman then settled into his role as the innings continued. His century was a perfect weigh of calm and aggression. It was Steve Smith’s fifth sluggish hundred, with a lot of patience shown by the batsman as he came out of a difficult period with a big hit.
After Steve Smith reached his hundred, Twitter burst out in praise for the batsman. Many also praised Steve Smith’s perseverance, as they referred to his elevated record against India.
On the other side, people hilariously suggested that Steve Smith’s wife Dani Willis is the reason behind his return to form. Remarkably, Smith and his wife were reunited with each other after spending months away due to bio-bubble restrictions. Several other cricket fans compared the batsman to Australian legend Don Bradman, as they celebrated his great knock.