IND vs AUS | Baffled India didn’t try to bounce Steve Smith out, expresses Brad Hogg

After conceding an otherworldly 62-ball 100 in the first ODI, India were expected to learn their lessons against Steve Smith but what, instead, ensued in the second ODI was a carbon copy of the first game, as the New South Welshman ended up registering back-to-back 62-ball hundreds. Walking in on the back of a 142-run Warner-Finch stand, Smith manipulated the field to perfection and brought up his 11th ODI century, his third straight 100+ score against the Indians.

While Smith did bat like a man possessed, what was, however, questionable was the Men in Blue’s tactics against the 31-year-old. With no definitive plan, the visitors went through the motions against Smith, who for the second game running taught Kohli & Co. a painful lesson. Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg, reviewing the second ODI, expressed shock over India’s tactics, and claimed that the visitors should have tried to bounce Smith out as soon as he walked in.

"The big issue for me for India was when Steve Smith came out, they didn't attempt to bounce him out at any stage. They bowled on a good length or a little fuller. I can't understand that, because Steve Smith's weakness is with the short-ball," Brad Hogg said in a video on his YouTube Channel.

"Steve Smith walks around, he was both legs planted and he is a little chest-on. So he can't duck and leave and has to play the pull shot. You could have set the entire tour up by having Steve Smith on the back foot.”

It was deja vu for the Indians not just with Smith, but with Glenn Maxwell too. Backing up his 19-ball 45 in the first ODI, the ‘Big Show’ struck an impeccable 29-ball 63 in the second, humiliating the visitors with 360* batting. The Men in Blue bowled full to Maxwell, and Hogg felt that the visitors missed a trick by, again, not marauding the right-hander with short stuff.

"And again Glenn Maxwell, just bowling full yorkers to him so that he can play those reverse sweeps. He is a player that you should bowl the short ball to and they didn't do it enough.”

Australia will be aiming for a clean sweep in the third and final ODI in Canberra on Wednesday.