Steve Smith plays a shot during the Ahmedabad Test (AP Photo)
Steve Smith felt Australia’s collapse in Delhi Test cost his side dearly during the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 as they lost 2-1
Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith rued the missed opportunities earlier in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 after the end of the 4th Test as India retained the top prize by winning the series 2-1.
Smith highlighted Australia’s collapse earlier in the second Test match in Delhi, which cost his side dearly. India would go on to win the match by six wickets.
Steve also went on to lavish praise on the likes of Mattew Kuhnemann as well as Todd Murphy, both the youngsters complement the legendary Nathan Lyon very well throughout the Test series.
Speaking to the broadcasters after the 4th Test ended in a draw, Smith also offered his thoughts on the series, which started on a bad note for Australia, but they recovered really well ever since Smith chipped in to do the captaincy duties in place of Cummins, who recently lost his mother.
“Did end slowly. Was a pretty flat at the back end. The boys had a great time. The hospitality has been amazing. The crowd has been amazing. We started to play better as the series went on,” said the Australian skipper.
Referring to Australia’s collapse in the Delhi Test, where the visitors lost 9 wickets in 90 minutes courtesy of Ravindra Jadeja’s 7-wicket haul, Smith admitted that his side could have performed better.
He also shared his thought on the Ahmedabad pitch which he felt was a bit too flat and thus no result came out of the fourth match.
“The madness in one hour in Delhi cost us that game. The wicket here was too flat for us to force a result,” said Smith.
He continued, “The spinners bowled really well. Murphy and Kuhnemann bowled with composure. Lyon bowled his best in the first innings here, the best I have seen him bowl.”
When quizzed whether he’d hope to keep playing when Australia come to tour India for the next Border Gavaskar Trophy four years later, Smith hinted that he was getting a bit old and will keep taking things one day at a time.
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