MELBOURNE: In many ways, it was coming. From the moment he got that century in Brisbane, Steve Smith seemed like he was going to pile on. It was always going to be about getting that one innings out of the way. The moment he did that at the Gabba, he knew he was not going to stop.
Even on day two of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, long before the play began, the former Australian captain was among the first to hit the outdoor nets. He had spent enough time getting into this zone before he even took strike on Friday morning. It’s nothing new if you had followed Smith’s career. It’s just the way he operates.
In Melbourne, he had come in to bat at a time Australia had settled in. The ball was softer and he was not up against a lethal and fresh Jasprit Bumrah. Something he had spoken about in Brisbane as well. All he had to do, in his own words, was to trust the process and stick to the methods. He believed that he was out of runs and not out of form. And once the runs came at The Gabba, that, too, was off his back. That he had spent a lot of time facing left-arm spinners in the nets in the lead up to the Boxing Day Test only helped.
What also helped was the “rub of green” going his way. He survived umpire’s calls, was saved by his trigger movement and true bounce the surface had early in his innings. Once he spent some time, India captain Rohit Sharma keeping the field open, Smith had no trouble getting the scoreboard moving. Whether it is Ravindra Jadeja or Washington Sundar, he had no trouble in working them around or using his feet.
Against pacers, even when he would play and miss, Smith would go to the square, let the previous ball go and refocus. He would take fresh guard and do it all over again. Ask him what the plan was on Friday morning, he would say nothing. He just likes to bat and wants to bat is the answer you would get. And bat he did on Friday.
Such was the way he covered the line, even if he got squared up, Smith would get away with it. Even if the ball gets the outside edge, it would either fall short of slip to go through to the ropes. The only time he took bowlers on knowing the risk involved was when Smith hooked Bumrah for a six to get into the nineties. Once the hundred came, it did through a drive off Nitish Reddy, there was going to be no stopping him. It was one of those phases where he would get in awkward shape and still find gaps. From getting to his century of 167 balls, Smith raced to 140 in 196.
He did not look like he would get out and the way he was dismissed only confirmed as much. Smith charged at Akash Deep and the ball bounced off his pad and rolled on to the stumps. On any other day, the bails might not have fallen, but here it did. His 34th century at a strike rate of 71.06 came to an end.
While from the outside, the discussions had been about the pitch being flatter and India struggling on it, clearly that wasn’t entirely the case. Smith explained later: “I think the ball's probably getting softer, quicker than perhaps it normally does, which maybe takes a little bit of the life and the carry out of it. But I still think there's some seam on offer. And even swing, I think it swung yesterday. They were swinging it 80 overs. So, yeah, there's still enough on offer for sure.”
“I think you need a lot of luck on these wickets to get big runs as well, the ones we're playing at the moment. And last week I had my fair share. I think I got an umpire's call and got beaten on numerous occasions when on other days I'd nick it. So, yeah, you need a bit of luck. But you've just got to have faith that you're going to turn it around,” he added.
And Australia made the most of it after Smith’s 140 helped them post 474 to keep India on the ropes. It is now up to one of the Indian middle-order batters to replicate what Smith did out in the middle.
