Australia’s star batsman Steve Smith has said he’s allowed India’s ace off-spinner Ashwin Ravichandran to dictate terms to him during the ongoing Test series as he strives to rediscover his scoring touch.
Smith has been dismissed by Ashwin twice in the first two matches of the four-match series for the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The right-handed batsman fell for 1 in the Adelaide Test, and registered his first-ever first innings duck in the Melbourne Test.
Steve Smith vs Jasprit Bumrah & Ashwin Ravichandran – a riveting battle on day three
“I probably haven’t played Ashwin as well as I would’ve liked; I probably would’ve liked to have put him under a bit more pressure,” Smith is quoted as telling SEN on Tuesday by cricket.com.au.
“I’ve sort of let him dictate terms and that’s something I’ve probably never let any spinner do in my career. I’ve sort of taken it to them, been a bit more aggressive and made them change things. I haven’t allowed that to happen [this series], probably because I’m searching for just being out there for long enough,” he said, adding that it’s a double-edged sword but he will have to take the bowling on with confidence.
Smith, who looked in good touch during the One Day International series when he made back-to-back 62-ball centuries, said he is seeking to spend time in the middle to get his scoring rhythm back. He has made just 10 runs in four outings so far in the series against India after being dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah for 8, bowled down the leg side. The world’s No 1 ranked Test batsman said, at the moment, he is searching for time in the middle which is the most important for him.
“When I look at this year, 64 balls is the longest I’ve spent in the middle, during those one-day games. For me, that’s important. I find a lot of rhythm out in the middle.
“You can bat as much as you want in the nets but there’s nothing that can replicate what a game can do, so that for me is what I’m searching for at the moment,” Smith added.
“That can be tough to do, particularly in a Test match when you’ve got some quality bowlers.”
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