Australia vs India: Rohit Sharma shadow bats on the pitch as Steve Smith observes him

In the third Test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Steve Smith had to endure severe backlash after he was seen, scuffing up the pitch at the striker’s end. From the commoners to a few experts, the 31-year-old was greeted with quite a bit of flak. It somewhat overshadowed the fact that he scored a century and got the Player of the Match award.

Smith also shadow-batted at the striker’s end after which Rishabh Pant had to take fresh guard. In the meantime, during the fourth and final Test at The Gabba in Brisbane, Rohit Sharma decided to imitate Smith. During the post-lunch session of the fourth day’s play, the 33-year-old Rohit went to the striker’s end and shadow-batted. Steve Smith, present in the middle, observed him.

Here’s the video

At the point in time, Smith was at the crease with Cameron Green with Australia’s lead up to 179. Smith had gotten his eyes in and it remains to be seen if he can get a big score, helping the hosts to a mammoth lead.

It’s such a shame: Steve Smith

After the incident in Sydney, earlier, Smith showed his disappointment. The New South Wales-born said it was a part of Australia’s bowling plan. Moreover, he lauded the Indian batting for showing a great amount of resilience and saving the match from an improbable situation.

“It’s something I do in games to visualize where we are bowling, how the batter is playing our bowlers, and then out of habit I always mark centre. It’s such a shame that this and other events have taken away from what was a great batting performance by India yesterday,” Smith was quoted as saying to News Corp.

Smith also got backing from Australian skipper Tim Paine, who also had to face criticism due to his altercation with Ravi Ashwin on the fifth day of the Sydney Test.

“If you’ve watched Steve Smith play Test cricket, that’s something he does every single game five or six times a day. He’s always standing in the batting crease, shadow batting. As we know, he’s got those many Steve Smith quirks, and one of those is he’s always marking centre,” Paine had told.