Australia’s talisman batsman, Steve Smith opens up about the plans of the Australian bowlers to dismiss India on Day 5 of the ongoing Test in Brisbane to win the match and the series. After stumps on Day 4 at the Gabba, the equation has come down simple for both the teams: India needs to chase 328 and Australia needs to take 10 wickets to win the match and take the series.
Steve Smith talked about the track that has started to deteriorate and has shown uneven bounce on Day 4 – there is a long crack in the middle of the pitch with which, often, the ball will kick off and bounce from a good length making life difficult for the batsman.
However, Smith, who top-scored in Australia’s second innings with 55 runs, reckons his bowlers should just be patient and bowl as they would normally do and not try to find too much help from the pitch, instead focus on the ‘good areas’ and the pitch will do its job.
“I think the game’s in a nice place for us. The wicket’s started to play a few tricks today, a couple of balls shot up, so tomorrow it’s just going to be about bowling good areas and allowing the natural variation to do its work, and hopefully, we can hold on to all the changes,” Steve Smith said in the virtual post-day press conference.
“It’s just being patient, not searching too much and just letting it happen. I think the more you go searching for it on these kinds of tracks, then you probably don’t get the rewards,” he added.
The boys are pumped to try and regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Steve Smith
More than India the hosts will be under pressure to win the match – as the series stands level, Australia must win the Brisbane Test to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as any other result would mean India retain the trophy having won it on their last tour.
The former captain opines that the entire series has been tightly contested and it has come down to the final day of the tour to decide the winner. Smith says that his team is excited and motivated and would give their best to win the match and the trophy.
“It (the series) has ebbed and flowed throughout, that’s for sure. It’s going to be an interesting final day. The boys are excited about tomorrow and pumped to try and regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” Steve Smith further said.
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