I Wasn't Too Surprised With The Way India Came At Me Last Summer - Steve Smith

Australia‘s talisman batsman Steve Smith admitted that he “wasn’t too surprised” with the way India bowled at him and tied him down for the first couple of Tests in their last series down under.

The Indian bowled smartly planned and executed a leg-side trap against Steve Smith last year, with his first four scores reading 1, 1*, 0, and 8. The right-hander pointed out that the Indian bowlers kept their lines really tight to him denying him scoring opportunities.

However, Steve Smith shot back with a century and a fifty in the third Test in Sydney and another fifty in the fourth Test in Brisbane.

“I wasn’t too surprised with the way India came at me last summer. It was more about just trying to stop me scoring for a lot of the time – they were just trying to ‘out-patient’ me, in a way, and I think they probably got the better of me in the first couple of Tests, and then I got going in Sydney, where I actually started to bat a bit better as well,” Steve Smith told cricket.com.au.

I think I’ve got my game pretty well set now: Steve Smith

Ahead of the upcoming Ashes series, Steve Smith, who has been appointed as the vice-captain, said he’s ready to take on the arch-rivals. He averages a staggering 65.12 against England in 27 Tests; he has slammed 11 hundreds against England.

The 32-year-old reckons he will need to adapt to different conditions and bowlers in the England attack.

“I think I’ve got my game pretty well set now, and then I think there’s just minor tweaks that need to come in place depending on who I’m playing against, where I’m playing and what’s coming at me.

“Being able to adapt is the most important thing for me in terms of longevity; people come up with different plans – different fields, different ways of attacking you – and it’s up to you to be good enough to counter what comes at you. That for me is what I try and improve each day – just my thought process on how I want to go about it,” he added.

The first Ashes Test is slated for Brisbane from December 8.

Also Read: IND vs NZ 2021: I Enjoyed Wankhede And Every Day There Was Something New – Player Of The Series Ravichandran Ashwin