Australia vs India: Ravi Ashwin dismisses Steve Smith for a duck at the MCG

Two cricketing superpowers India and Australia are up against each other in Day 1 of the highly-anticipated Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The number one ranked batsman in ICC Test batsmen rankings, Steve Smith was the player to watch out for in this marquee contest. However, the batsman failed to produce results and left Australia reeling in the middle after bagging an eight-ball duck.

The game commenced with the Australian skipper Tim Paine winning the toss and electing to bat first. The Indian pacers breathed fire with the ball and went all guns blazing against the feeble top-order of Australia. Jasprit Bumrah gave the first breakthrough to his team by scalping the wicket of opening batsman Joe Burns, who was yet to open his account.

This was followed by Ravi Ashwin coming into the attack and sending the other in-form opening batsman Matthew Wade back to the pavilion in the 13th over. After Wade, the batting great Steve Smith walked onto the field and Australia had high hopes from the batsman after losing their opening pair cheaply. However, Smith failed to perform and Australia was left disappointed as he walked back to the pavilion after scoring 0 runs off 8 balls.

Steve Smith bags duck for the first time against India in Tests

Ravi Ashwin got the better of Steve Smith with a classic off-spinner in the 15th over. He bowled an off-spinner that pitched around middle and turned towards Smith’s legs. The Aussie Number 4 was looking to nudge the ball behind square and played it with a closed bat-face but he couldn’t keep it down. Cheteshwar Pujara, at the leg slip, made no mistake as he dived across to his left to finish a clean catch.

Ravi Ashwin has Steve Smith!

The Aussie departs for a duck 👀

As simple as you like… pic.twitter.com/Y7pxOgWSA8

— Cricket on BT Sport (@btsportcricket) December 26, 2020

This was a rare failure for the batting legend as Steve Smith boasts of having exemplary records while playing in the purest format of the game against India. He has registered 10 centuries against Men in Blue, and has scored 1429 runs in 10 matches at an impressive average.

His Boxing Day records at MCG are even better as he averages over 113 in 7 Test games. Also, this was the first time that Steve Smith went back to the pavilion without scoring any runs against India in Tests.