‘Will keep a few people quiet’ – Steve Smith after scoring his 27th Test ton against India at the SCG

Prior to the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy, all eyes were on Steve Smith, who came into the series with a Test average in the mid-60s. However, in the first two games in Adelaide and Melbourne, he couldn’t get into the double digits, managing 10 runs at an average of 3.33. But the 31-year-old right-hander made amends in the third Test, notching his 27th Test century.

After the first two Tests, all the talks were regarding how Ravi Ashwin dictated terms to Smith. The latter admitted that he allowed the off-spinner to get under his skin and should have been more aggressive while facing him. In the SCG Test, Smith, indeed, changed his approach against Ashwin and went on to score 131 runs off 226 balls with the help of 16 fours.

Steve Smith delighted after his knock

Before the ongoing Test, reports of Smith being ‘out of form’ also did the rounds. The New South Wales-born was happy to have gotten the ton, which he reckons should ‘keep a few people quiet’.

“I’m reading lots of things people say about out of form, but think there’s a difference between out of form and out of runs so it was just nice to score a few and maybe keep a few people quiet,” Smith was quoted as saying to the broadcasters at the ground during the innings’ break.

Smith got to his century off 201 balls and then pressed the accelerator to propel Australia’s score. His knock came to an end when Ravindra Jadeja ran him out at the striker’s end with a direct hit. He went off to a round of applause from the SCG crowd after his masterclass with the bat.

In Test cricket, the veteran Smith now holds the record for the most number of centuries against India. Along with Viv Richards, Sir Gary Sobers and Ricky Ponting, Smith has scored eight tons versus the subcontinent team.

During his knock, Smith also stitched together a third-wicket partnership of 100 runs along with Marnus Labuschagne. On the back of Smith’s knock, the Aussies put up a formidable score of 338 on the board. At the close of play on Day 2, India are trailing by 242 runs.