'Not his space to mark' - Brad Hogg reacts to Steve Smith scuffing Rishabh Pant's batting mark

There were many points to talk about regarding the final day’s play between India and Australia in Sydney. From Hanuma Vihari’s limping knock to Ravi Ashwin’s grit to Tim Paine’s sledging to Pant’s knock. However, something which might have not caught the attention too much was Steve Smith’s removal of the Rishabh Pant’s guard during the drinks break. 

Former Australian spinner, Brad Hogg, who is well known for giving his opinion on cricket on social media was asked about the same by some fans. The two-time World Cup winner didn’t take a neutral side on this one as he went on to criticize Smith’s actions. 

Brad Hogg criticizes Steve Smith clearly

Hogg said that he did see that on the television during the live coverage. He also remarked that it was not his place to mark anything. He replied to a fan on Twitter saying,” Batsmans area. Not his space to mark! It did alert my eyes during the live coverage. #INDvAUS.”

Batsmans area. Not his space to mark!
It did alert my eyes during the live coverage. #INDvAUS https://t.co/c67iu36s3Q

— Brad Hogg (@Brad_Hogg) January 11, 2021

This incident took place during a drinks break when Pant and his batting partner, Cheteshwar Pujara were away from the crease. The former Aussie skipper was walking around the pitch, he slowly went in front of the stumps and was seen shadow batting. After a few seconds, he was seen deliberately removing the guard taken by Pant. The Indian batsman then came back and marked his guard once again. All of this was caught by the stump camera and the footage was played during the live coverage. 

Steve Smith-player of the  match at SCG

The match ended in a draw and Smith received the man of the match award for his knocks of 131 and 81 in the two innings. The mainstay of the Aussie batting came to the party quite late in the series after failing to make an impact with the bat in the first two Tests. Considering the record of the Aussie batsman against India, it would be interesting to see what tactics the Indian team can come up with for the final Test. 

Their tricks and plans worked perfectly against Smith in the first two Tests, where Ravichandran Ashwin got him out twice while Jasprit Bumrah successfully got one to kiss the leg stump on the way and got him out down the leg side.