IND vs AUS | My rhythm came back three days ago after searching for a couple of months, asserts Steve Smith

Steve Smith had a torrid Indian Premier League, scoring just 311 runs at 25.91 - a bulk of which came at batting paradise Sharjah in the initial part of the tournament. As the tournament progressed, he was unsure about his own batting role and too much shuffle resulted in him failing to contribute anything to the team’s cause. 

However, a couple of days to go for the first ODI between India and Australia, Smith said in a press conference that something clicked for him and he couldn’t wait to bat long in a game of cricket. Staying true to his words, the Aussie showcased his incredible acceleration, scoring a 62-ball 100 which is the third fastest in Australia’s ODI cricket history.

“Have been searching for something for a couple of months now. About three days ago something just clicked. My rhythm came back, everything came back. Finchy and Davey played very well early on. We could come in and be aggressive,” Smith, who was awarded the Man of the Match, said in the post-match presentation.

With Aaron Finch and David Warner setting the tone early on, the onus was on Smith to fire on all cylinders and all credit to him, he did that with elan. None of the Indian pacers, sans Mohammed Shami in phases, could intimidate the Aussies today, thus allowing them to take the game away. Smith stated that his simple approach of seeing the ball and hitting it without complicating it further helped him massively.

“Wasn't thinking too much out there, just seeing the ball and hitting it. Was seeing the ball well. It was a good surface. I took a few more risks than I would normally. I targeted some bowlers and fortunately it came off. Nice to contribute to a good win. Need a bit of luck in this game sometimes, nice to ride it today (getting his LBW overturned),” the 31-year-old added.

The Sydney ODI today marked Smith's third consecutive 90+ score against the Indians in ODIs.