Steve Smith suffers an injury scare ahead of the first T20I

Steve Smith, the skipper of Australia, suffered a massive injury scare on Thursday during their practice in Ranchi ahead of the first game. The opening game of the three-match T20 International series between India and Australia is all set to be played on Saturday (October 7). The remaining two matches will be played on October 10 and 13 in Guwahati and Hyderabad respectively. Australia would look to win this series after the debacle in the 50-over format where they could only register a solitary victory.

Steve Smith sustained a minor shoulder injury during practice at JSCA International Stadium Complex. The right-hander was then taken to a local private hospital for the check-up, where he also underwent an MRI scan. However, the Australian management heaved a sigh of relief as Smith was declared fit by the doctors to take part in the first match. However, he was seen clutching his shoulder while fielding during the final ODI in Nagpur as well.

Smith needs to lead from front

The Australian skipper stressed the fact that one of the top four failed to guide the innings throughout during the One-Day series. He himself endured a poor series with just 142 runs in 5 innings despite scoring a couple of half-centuries. The visitors are ranked seventh in the ICC T20I rankings and they have a golden chance to rise to the third position by clean sweeping India in their own den. Even if they manage to win the series the team from down under will topple the Men in Blue from the fifth rank.

Australia have drafted a few T20 specialists in the squad for the series and are hoping that the young guns fire along with the experienced. The team looks a lot balanced compared to the ODIs and it is expected that fans might witness a nail-biting contest. India, on the other hand, will look to repeat their feat in the previous series when they swept the Aussies in their own den in January 2016.