Steve Smith : India played into our hands

The turning track in Pune was perhaps not a surprise but the way the Australians out-performed India on that track was. In the build-up to the series, the Australian camp was fairly confident of their preparation for the tour, and Smith has insisted that by preparing a rank turner in Pune, India had played into their hands.

"It would be interesting to see what they come up with come Bangalore (for the second Test commencing March 4)," added Smith.

The 27-year-old has also expressed his delight at having broken Australia’s 4502-day run of not having won in India. He said, "Right up there. Coming to India, we haven't won a game here in 4,502 days. I have been told those facts. So it has been an incredibly long time. Guys have been excited by the opportunity to come and play here. We know it's a great challenge and in this game the boys were up to the challenge.

"I think it was fortunate, Day 1, win the toss and post 260 on that wicket was very good. And then our bowlers went to work. I thought Sock (O'Keefe) was absolutely amazing to consistently land the ball in good areas and get the natural variation was absolutely outstanding. It was well supported by Nathan Lyon and the two fast bowlers as well."

"It's going to be right up there as well. I obviously rode my luck throughout the innings, had a few lives. But you need a bit of luck on a wicket like that, and I was pleased with myself to score a second innings hundred in India. Formulate some different plans than how I normally play and sort of problem solving on the spot.

"So from that aspect, I am pleased with myself. It was great that we were able to get such a big lead and give our bowlers plenty to bowl at," Smith explained.

"Sock (O'Keefe) was able to beat the bat on both sides and find the edge and hit the pad consistently. If you're attacking the stumps enough like that, then you?re going to get rewards."

At the start of the series, the tour was built up as battle between Virat Kohli and Steve Smith, and the Aussie went one up on his rival in the first Test. Smith, however, expects Kohli to bounce back hard. He said, "I think he was getting a little bit angry on the fielders for dropping catches. He is obviously a world class player and we expect him to comeback hard. Players miss out now and then and unfortunately he missed out for us in this game.