Steve Smith is likely to leave leading Australia in a Test match in India after the Ahmedabad Test. The 33-year-old is unlikely to play again in a Test match in India after this one, with Australia’s next tour coming in 2027.
Smith is making his third trip to India, and he is hopeful that his team will draw famously 2-2, something Australia hasn’t done in four attempts since winning the series in 2004.
At the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, March 8, Smith admitted, “I probably can’t see myself coming back really if I’m being realistic.” In any case, we’ll keep a watch out, and take it to step by step, four years is quite a while. I’ll partake in this one, ideally, it’s an extraordinary group and we can engage them and in a perfect world complete the series all around well.
India head coach Rahul Dravid stated that one must “be realistic about what the benchmarks are currently.” Smith’s appraisal was like that of Dravid, as the Australian skipper said the effect of the commitments made the biggest difference, and that the hitters ought not to be worried about the manners in which they have been excused.
If a ball spins sharply past your bat, there’s a good chance that the next one will go straight. We’ve also talked about trying to let go of the ball before. You have to cover that up and be content to get out in some ways.
For instance, I was pleased with how I ended the previous game after getting caught behind on that straight one. Despite the fact that it probably did not turn out as much as I would have liked, I was pleased with how I got out. Guys need to be satisfied with how you get out.”
Smith, on the other hand, is hoping that the lower-order batsmen, who, in contrast to their Indian counterparts, have not done much with the bat so far in the series, will score some runs. India’s bottom five have scored 403 runs in the series so far, including Axar Patel’s 185 runs, including three half-centuries. Australia has only managed 140 runs, with no fifties.
“We’ve talked about the tail, probably because the bottom few batters haven’t contributed as much as they would have liked. When you consider that someone like Axar has been extremely difficult to free, that has made a significant difference. Additionally, the series averages are not significantly different between our top six and their top six.
Smith pointed out that there is one area in which I believe we can make improvements; however, “outside of that, I think it’s just continuing to trust the way.
In the lead-up to the fourth Test, there is a little bit of uncertainty due to the fact that two pitches are being prepared side by side, one based on black soil and the other on red soil. However, it is anticipated that the black soil pitch, which has a tendency to keep balls a little low, will be used for the fourth Test.
It’s 37 degrees here, which allows it to dry out, and I believe the cover was on for a while today. As a result, they might be concerned that it is drying out too much. It changed in no time at all. And then, if we look at it today, we might be able to figure out what it’s going to do,” Smith stated.
In general, I believe the red soil bounces a little bit more. I think red soil was the first one we played on in Nagpur. Black soil has been used in the last two, and I don’t think it has bounced as much in those two.