Australia vs India: Steve Smith oozes pride after hosts’ triumph in Perth

Ever since the ball-tampering scandal at Newlands in South Africa, cricket in Australia has well and truly gone into the doldrums. Apart from a win here and there, they haven’t been able to stand up to the challenges. In Test cricket, they had won nothing and also lost their opening Test against India at the renowned Adelaide Oval. However, their fortunes turned around in the second Test in Perth.

At the new Perth Stadium, Tim Paine and Co made a stupendous comeback and brushed their opponents by 146 runs to draw level in the four-match series. In the meantime, Steve Smith, who was suspended following the infamous scandal in March, sounded extremely proud about Australia’s performance thus far. The tainted cricketer also hailed Paine for his stupendous leadership abilities.

“It’s been tough (watching) at times, particularly when the boys haven’t played their best in a couple of games. It’s been hard watching and knowing that I can’t go out and help them. But I was really proud of the way the boys played last week in Perth.

I thought they were magnificent and I think Tim Paine’s leadership has been exceptional since taking over as captain. He’s obviously been faced with difficult circumstances to begin with but he’s done a terrific job,” Smith was quoted as saying to the media.

I’m trying to move on from that

Smith hasn’t had the best times since the incident. However, he has been able to weather the storm and he also thanked his near and dear ones for lending support in the tough times. “I’m going OK. I’ve had tough days, I’ve had my ups and downs. But I’ve been really fortunate to have a close group of people around me to help me through those difficult times.

There have been some dark days where I haven’t wanted to get out of bed and things like that. But I’ve had a close group of people around me to help me know that it’s OK. I’ve made a mistake and it was a big mistake and I’m trying to move on from that and improve as a person,” he added.

As far as the ongoing Test series is concerned, the third encounter is scheduled to get underway on Wednesday, December 26, Boxing Day, at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. The fourth and final will be played from Thursday, January 3 at Sydney Cricket Ground.

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