Pune century my best knock in Test cricket says Australian captain Steve Smith

Steve Smith is one of the best batters in the world right now. He has awed everyone with his unusual technique and has been scoring centuries at will. His recent knock in the Ashes is termed as one of the best in cricketing history. He was fantastic on the day and took the game away from England.

He showed his worth during the thee tour of India as he smashed a great century in the first Test in Pune. Smith was brilliant during the whole series despite the fact that the Aussies lost the series. But Brisbane was special for all the Australian fans. They won the game against their arch-rivals and also managed to take a lead in the series.

Pune was even more special: Smith

His 109-run knock in Pune on a turning wicket against one of the best sides in the world was outstanding. He said that it is his best hundred out of the 21 he has scored in Test cricket. Smith said that everyone had written them off and all the odds were against his team but yet he scored a century and they won the game.

“Before our team had even set foot in the subcontinent we were written off by everyone, which made my 109 and more importantly our win in Pune that much more satisfying. The Pune wicket was incredibly challenging with the ball spinning sharply from the first session, so by the time our second innings started it was turning big,” the Australian captain said.

Smith also mentioned that he has not scored many second inning centuries and that made the knock even more special. “I haven’t scored too many second-innings hundreds and although I had a few lives along the way, I was proud of the way I stuck to my plans and was able to think on my feet,” he added.

On tackling Ashwin and Jadeja

The Pune wicket was a sharp turner and with the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja posing a grave threat, it was even tougher. However, Smith managed to tackle them successfully and revealed his plan against them. He said, “A good example of that was when I started sweeping India’s off-spinner Ravi Ashwin. In the lead up to the match I didn’t think about sweeping Ashwin, hadn’t practiced it but it just felt right.”

Jadeja was a tough one to tackle but Smith said that he had to leave his ego in the dressing room. He said that Jadeja was beating him constantly but he continued to play for the straight one.

“With left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja continually beating me on the outside edge, I just took my ego out of play and kept playing for that straight one, confident that if it spun it was going to go so far it would beat the edge,” Smith explained.

That century showed the 28-year-old that he could score runs all around the globe. The win in that Test match also helped his confidence and set him up beautifully for the rest of the series. He said, “that century really set me up for the rest of the series and just showed me and everyone that I could score runs anywhere.”

“That was my mantra throughout the whole tour but particularly in this game. It was such an important game, the first match of the series, and while it was great to get the result we fell just short in the series as a whole,” he added.