Updated: November 28, 2020 12:43:08 pm
Australia’s Steve Smith celebrates after scoring a century during the one-day international cricket match between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 (AP Photo / Rick Rycroft).
It was a turbocharged start to the Australian summer, with Captain Aaron Finch setting the tone with his 17th century ODI. Their efforts were overshadowed by Steve Smith’s superlative 105 of 66 balls, the third fastest ODI of the century for an Australian, and Glenn Maxwell’s entertaining cameo that propelled the home team to 374/6, his highest score against India. The chase was always going to be tough, but India was on the hunt until ’39, when Hardik Pandya was in the fold. In the end, however, Australia went home with a complete 66-race victory.
Smith’s fast hands
During the lockdown, when the cricketers found time to reevaluate and hone their skills, Smith was fighting his own battle. Something was wrong with the position of his hands on the handle of the bat. “I felt very uncomfortable with my hands. Something was not right, ”he had told cricketaustralia.com.au. Finding his hands turned out to be a futile exercise as evidenced by his tepid comeback in the IPL – just 311 runs in 14 games.
However, just days before the first ODI against India, the 31-year-old declared that he had found his way out. “I think in the last few days I have found something. Close people who know me well, I have found my hands in recent days, so I am very excited, “he said.
Quick hands are a Smith specialty, allowing him to maneuver balls thrown into the leg stump through the off-side or throw an outside-to-outside delivery through the mid wicket region with ease. There was one shot in particular against Shami that illustrates this point. It was packed on the outside, but Smith somehow managed to get it out halfway.
Unlike the IPL, Smith had the luxury of a comfortable platform and time at his disposal, as Australia’s irrepressible inaugural pair Aaron Finch and David Warner had achieved a position of 159 runs in a shadow with under 28 overs. He started walking down the track towards Yuzvendra Chahal and deposited him on the middle fence. Between 36.3 to 37.3, Smith went into overdrive, looting four limits from five deliveries. He got a pardon in 38 when Shikhar Dhawan caught him at the long limit. Perhaps, opposition and venue also played a role in Smith’s roaring return to form. His last five ODI hits against India say: 69, 98, 102, 131 and 51.
In addition, the SCG was the terrain where he had written that masterful century against the same rivals in the 2015 World Cup semi-final. Smith participated in two game-defining partnerships: the 108-run second-field position with Finch, and the alliance 57-run maniac with Maxwell that led Australia to a winning score.
Maxwell comes to the party
Australian Glenn Maxwell hits a six during the one-day international cricket match between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney, Australia on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 (AP Photo / Rick Rycroft).
For all the talent he possesses, the enigmatic Glenn Maxwell has been frustratingly inconsistent.
Just when it looked like he had turned a corner after a century of ODI-decided series wins against England in September, Maxwell suffered another slump in form at IPL, where he managed just 108 runs, averaging below par 15.42 which led Virender Sehwag to. Call him “10 crore rupee IPL entertainer”.
Entering No. 5, Maxwell began with a scratchy covering attack off Jasprit Bumrah, before deploying two consecutive switch hits against Chahal – the first ran to the third-man limit and the second sailed back for a max.
The audacity in which he lashed out at Chahal, his nemesis in bilateral tournaments and the IPL, was a sight to behold.
Highlight:
Hazlewood Gorilla Barrage
Josh Hazlewood gave further proof of why he is the best Australian pacemaker in the entire format by awarding Mayank Agarwal, Kohli and Shreyas Iyer. Agarwal’s lead example: Opener has shown a propensity to step back and play the hoick over the offside. Hazlewood hit him hard and followed Agarwal, giving him a space cramp and resulting in a leading edge to aim.
Kohli’s scalp was the most satisfying, because she had just gotten a breather and seemed with a commanding touch. Another short-lived installment had the Indian captain attempt to craft a flamboyant shooting shot, which Finch swallowed in the middle. Hazlewood then astonished Shreyas Iyer with a brute that kept climbing sharply. Iyer, who has a history against short balls, was only able to defend himself awkwardly against the goalkeeper. Until two years ago, Zampa was a one-dimensional bowler, but over time he has not only mastered wong’un, he has also developed subtle changes of pace. All of these skills helped the leggie win four wickets tonight, including that of Dhawan in form and Hardik Pandya, whose association of 128 runs on fifth field had threatened to take the game away from Australia.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
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