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India vs Australia: It will may be keep a few people quiet - Steve Smith after scoring 27th Test hundred

January 8, 2021

Australia batsman Steve Smith roared back to first and hit his 27th Test hundred route his 226-ball 131 in the third Test against India at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday. With the hundred, Smith equalled India captain Virat Kohli's Test hundred tally of as many hundreds. He also surpassed the overall Test run tally of Kohli.

The right-hander was under scrutiny for his form lately after he managed to score just 10 runs from the first 4 innings of the 4-match series. Some former cricketers including Glenn McGrath expressed surprise at Smith's failure and said that he was finding weird ways to get out every time.

Steve Smith averaged just around 19 in the 3 Tests he played in 2020 and his last hundred had come in September 2019 vs England. But Steve Smith showed the reason why he is rated as one of the most dangerous batsmen going around in the world. In his innings comprising 16 fours, the 31-year-old displayed classy Test batting in front of some 9,000 fans.

After the end of the innings Smith answered back to his critics and said that there was a difference between out-of-form and out-of-run. He added that he was hopeful that this innings would keep "a few people quiet".

"I am reading lots of things people say about out of form, but think there is a difference between out of form and out of run. So it was nice to score a few and maybe keep a few people quiet," Steve Smith said.

Australia's innings ended at 333 after Ravindra Jadeja ran out Smith by his rocket throw from square leg. In reply, India openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill partnered for 70 runs before the former got out on 26 in the 27th over of India's 1st innings.