IND vs AUS 4th Test: On the strength of Steve Smith’s 34th century, Australia strengthened its position by scoring 454 runs for seven wickets here on Friday, the second day of the fourth Test of the five-match series against India.
Smith, who started the day with 68 runs (111 balls), played 56 more balls and completed his 34th Test century, equaling the centuries of the great Sunil Gavaskar. He is present at the crease at the time of lunch break after scoring 139 runs on 194 balls. Mitchell Starc (15 not out) is supporting him from the other end.
He is 52 runs away from becoming the fourth Australian batsman after Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting to complete 10,000 Test runs. He completed his century by hitting a drive in the cover region. The Indian bowlers, who returned in the last session of the first day of the match, could not make an impact against the pair of Smith and captain Pat Cummins (49, 63 balls) in the opening session of the second day. Both added 112 runs for the seventh wicket. Smith has now made an unbroken partnership of 43 runs with Starc.
Smith, who had performed poorly till the second Test of this series, batted in contrasting styles over the course of the two days. On the first day of the match, he was batting very cautiously and waiting for the weak balls to score runs. On Friday, he batted in an aggressive style and forced the bowlers to change their lengths. He did not hesitate to hit pull and hook shots.
The former Australia captain also hit sixes against Jasprit Bumrah (3/97 in 28 overs) and Mohammed Siraj Siraj (2/72 in 18 overs). Despite the drop in temperature and a chill in the air, the Indian bowlers failed to take advantage of the conditions. Poor line and length allowed Cummins to spend time at the crease and he hit seven fours in his innings.
Captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir’s move of leaving out Shubman Gill and playing two spinners in this match seems to have backfired. Ravindra Jadeja (two wickets for 72 runs in 18 overs) and Washington Sundar (one wicket for 49 runs in 15 overs) are not looking effective. Smith’s hook against Siraj was so brilliant that the bowler was left stunned.
However, Siraj did not make fun of this batsman who had gained momentum. However, it had no effect on the Australian supporters. They were seen continuously booing him and Virat Kohli.
