Under Pressure, We Are Not Executing Our Skill: Steve Smith

Australia skipper Steve Smith has rued another batting failure from his team as the world champions are now 2-0 down in the ongoing five-match series after losing the second ODI on Thursday (September 21). In the series-opener at Chennai, the visitors had managed to score only 137 for 9 while chasing the revised total of 164 in 21 overs and once again failed to put up a good challenge against Virat Kohli & Co.

Chasing a modest total of 253, Steve Smith & Co. never looked in contention as they lost wickets at regular intervals before being eventually dismissed for 202. Speaking after the loss, Smith did not beat around the bush and admitted that his team made poor decisions and wilted under pressure.

“We made many poor decisions again. Under pressure, we are not executing our skills well enough. We are losing wickets in clumps which we can’t afford to do,” he said.

Australia were staring down the barrel inside the first five overs when Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed both of their openers – Hilton Cartwright and David Warner– with only 9 runs on the board. Smith and Travis Head then steadied the ship with a 76-run stand but that was the last substantial partnership for the visitors as they lost wickets in cluster to lose the game.

Smith said that he or Head needed to remain till the end to ensure Australia do not falter before taking the blame on himself and Head for the collapse.

“It was a point for one of us to go on and make a big score and be there till the end,” he lamented. “That’s the way we play – one of our top-four has to go on and make a big score. Heady and I were the two guys who got in and we weren’t able to do so. A lot of the blame falls on us. We got a good little partnership there. We turn 70 into a 140 then the game’s closed. We just weren’t able to do it.”

“Well, it’s happening bit too often for my liking, to be honest with you. We’ve had a lot of collapses we need to stop. It’s just easy to just sit here and say it needs to stop, but when you get out in the middle, you’ve to change what you’re doing because it’s not working,” he added.