Steve Smith posts a picture after arriving in Kolkata for the 2nd ODI

Australian skipper isn’t all gloomy and somber, on arriving in Kolkata. Steve Smith posted a picture on Instagram, where he can be seen beaming with a smile on his face, courtesy a warm welcome in the city of joy. Australia lost the 1st ODI in Chennai after rain interrupted the game and the match had to be reduced to 21 overs in the 2nd innings.

Chasing a target of 164 in 21 overs, the visitors lost nine wickets, scoring just 137. Apart from Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner, none of the batsmen got a going and failed to score runs with the bat. Maxwell scored 39 while Faulkner remained unbeaten on 32. Captain Smith just scored 1 with the bat.

India outplayed Steve Smith’s men

The skipper said, “We had them at 5 for 87 and let things off a bit. MS and Hardik had a great, match-winning partnership. The new ball was stopping and some skidded on. We lost too many wickets in the middle. You can’t control the weather. No complaints, we weren’t good enough and we were outplayed by India. I thought Cummins and Coulter-Nile bowled very well in the new ball and hopefully they can back it up in a couple of days’ time. It was a tough wicket with the new ball, and then we went away from our plans too early.”

But Smith’s recent post tells us that the skipper is in a happy space, and he will look to go all guns blazing in the 2nd ODI at the Eden Gardens. But Kolkata has witnessed intermittent showers. The ground has been totally under cover and the threat of rain is looming large.

“The pitch and ground conditions is just perfect. It’s an ideal condition what’s required for an One-Day International contest but I cannot say whether it will rain or not,” said CAB pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee.