Steve Smith continued his sublime form with a second consecutive century against India in the second One-Day International at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Having scored a match-winning 105 in the first ODI of the three-match series, Smith took apart the Indian bowling attack once again in a masterful 104 off 64, with 14 fours and two sixes.
(Australia vs India, 2nd ODI blog)
Smith’s century came off 62 balls, exactly the same number as in the first ODI: the third fastest by an Australian in this format.
The 31-year-old right-hander was severe on pace as well as spin, with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal struggling to find the right line and length.
Smith showed his full array of strokes and found boundaries at will as Australia laid the foundation for another massive total batting first. The innings finished with Australia bettering their effort in the first ODI, posting 389/4.
Hardik Pandya, bowling for the first time in more than a year, dismissed Smith.
Here are some Twitter reactions to Smith’s masterclass:
Australia won the toss and chose to bat in the second ODI against India at a hot, blustery SCG on Sunday.
Australia’s Marcus Stoinis picked up a side strain while bowling in Friday’s win and has been replaced by another all-rounder, Moises Henriques.
“Stoinis is out, a little bit of niggle. It’s the overs he (Henriques) can give us,” Australia skipper Aaron Finch said. “The wicket can get slower as the game goes on.”
India will be unchanged from the side that lost the first match of the three-game series on Friday and will again be fielding in the extreme heat of the day session.
“We were a bit rusty in the first game, no excuses,” India captain Virat Kohli said of the loss. “After the 30-over mark, the bodies started to stiffen up. The second half was very encouraging. We can take a lot of positives from that. We are playing the same 11.”
Australia, fuelled by centuries from Finch and Steve Smith, crushed India by 66 runs on Friday.
An Australian victory will not only clinch a series win but also the top spot in the World Cup Super League.
India have lost their last four ODIs and are bidding to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat for the first time since January 2016.
(With inputs from AFP)