Steve Smith booed on the way back to pavilion at Bengaluru

The record partnership between David Warner and Aaron Finch was broken when the former got out after scoring a colossal 124 run-knock. They stitched together a 231-run stand that laid a huge platform for the other batters to walk in and convert the total into something huge. But their usually consistent skipper Steve Smith failed to keep up with the momentum and fell in quick succession.

Coming in to bat at four, and not his usual No.3 as Travis Head was promoted instead, Smith had to face the hostility of the Chinnaswamy crowd. Apparently, the skipper wasn’t the only Australian who had to go through the hostility as Warner was booed on his way back after scoring a century as well.

The spectators at M Chinnaswamy in Bangalore showed that they did not forget what the Australian skipper did the last time he was there. They expressed their dislike for him after Smith managed a meagre three runs in his short stay on the crease and while he was walking back to the pavilion, the crowd gave him a proper send-off.

The reason behind the send-off was probably the ‘brain-fade’ moment the skipper had when Australia visited India for the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year. The 28-year-old appeared to consult with the dressing room whether he should take a review after Umesh Yadav had caught him leg before. The crowd didn’t forget the incident and made sure Smith remembered it too.

Here is the video of his dismissal posted by the BCCI:

Criticism for Smith everywhere

Interestingly, it’s not only the Indian fans who seem to have issues with Steve Smith. Former Aussie speedster Rodney Hogg said the team needed a serious selection renovation particularly questioning the captain’s role in picking sides. If they lose the ongoing match too, it will be the 12th consecutive loss away from home which has also acted as a big factor in his criticism.

“They’re picking their mates. Smith shouldn’t be a selector,” Hogg quoted as saying by news.com.au. “(Ashton) Agar’s been pushed through and Cartwright’s still there. We saw (Nic) Maddinson get selected (he’s) a mate, he’s one of Steve Smith’s mates. You can’t pick bloody mates! We’ve got to get fair dinkum. We’re really off the ball a bit here … I think the captain’s getting his own way,” he added.