There is a reason why Steve Smith is the captain in all three formats: Aaron Finch

The habit of losing games on the Indian tour for Australia continued as the Kangaroos lost the 1st T20I at Ranchi to concede a lead of 1-0 to India in the 3-match T20I series.

Top scorer for Australians during the tour, Aaron Finch, claimed that Australia missed the services of their all-format captain Steve Smith during the match and that there is a reason why ‘Smudge’ is their first choice captain in all three formats of the game.

Much like the theme of the series, after managing a good start, Australia lost their way in the middle overs by losing frequent wickets. The visitors had no answers to the spell from Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Two of the best death bowlers presently in world cricket, Bhuvi and Bumrah, finished the job for their side perfectly. In the end, the men in yellow could only manage a total of 118 before rain interrupted play.

Australian batting missed the experience of Smith under Ranchi conditions: Finch

“It would have been nice to have Steve Smith’s skill out there but also his game smarts in these conditions. There is a reason why he is the first-choice captain in all three formats. It was a tough result actually. We got a pretty good start with the bat then lost our way in the middle overs. It was very challenging wicket to bat on,” claimed Aaron Finch according to News 18.

“It is easy to look back now and say, ‘yes we should have changed our approach’. But when you look at the history of this ground (in Ranchi), it suggests that 150 is a par score or the average score batting first on the surface. We wanted to make sure we were up and around that mark,” further added Finch.

“We knew with how competent their bowlers are at the death — Bhuvneshwar (Kumar) and (Jasprit) Bumrah, in particular, are two of the finest going around at executing in the end,” concluded the most successful batsman for the Australians in the ongoing tour.