The Australian team, trailing 0-2 in the Test series, returned to the Indore Test and Steve Smith led the team to victory in the absence of Pat Cummins.
Image Credit source: AFP
Indore: When the Australian team came on a tour of India in 2017, it made a tremendous start by defeating Team India in the first Test match held in Pune. On that tremendous turn-taking pitch in Pune, Smith won Australia with his batting, Steve O’Keefe’s spin and his strong captaincy. Five and a half years later, almost the same script was repeated in the Indore Test in 2023, where Australia again defeated India under the captaincy of Smith on the lethal spin-taking pitch of Indore. Smith could not contribute with the bat this time but proved to be the topper in captaincy. The difference is that this time Smith will not captain Australia further.
Team India’s game ended in Pune within two days and one session. What India did to Australia in the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India’s fate in Indore was even worse. That too, when Australia landed without its captain Pat Cummins, while some other players were ruled out due to injury or other reasons. In such a situation, Smith took over the captaincy and gave the team a memorable victory.
Why did Smith say – ‘My time is up’?
Despite this, Smith will not take command of the team in the decisive Test match starting on 9 March. Smith himself has cleared the situation regarding this and said that this is Pat Cummins’ team and he will handle it further. After the victory in Indore, Smith said that his time as captain in this series is over. The veteran batsman said, “My time is up. Now it is Pat’s (Cummins) team.”
Most liked captaincy in India
Despite this, Smith expressed his happiness even after captaining only one match and said that he likes captaining India the most. He described it as a game of chess. Smith said, India is the country where I love to captain. It is like a game of chess, where every ball counts. It’s fun to run people around and force batters into different things and play games with them. It’s probably my favorite country in the world to captain.
Pat Cummins will return
The Australian team, which has already trailed 0-2 in the Test series, has now reduced the score to 1-2. This victory will give enthusiasm and encouragement to the team. Along with the return of Pat Cummins, the strength of the team will also increase. Veteran fast bowler and Australia’s regular captain Cummins returned to the country after the second Test due to the treatment of his ailing mother. Due to this he could not play in the third test. Now he will return for the fourth match.
