Steve Smith, who leads Australia in the third Test against India at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, shone with his leadership skills as the visitors dominated the opening session of Day 1.
A clinic bowling performance from Australia put the visitors in the driving seat. The hosts struggled at 84/7 after 26 overs. Spinners Mathew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon each grabbed three wickets, while Todd Murphy took the prized wicket from Virat Kohli.
The fans praised Steve Smith’s captaincy as he ensured Australia were on top with attacking pitch placements and for picking the right bowlers to dominate India.
His aggressive mentality was pointed out by some for the use of pacemakers to prevent Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel from scoring easy runs.
For the uninitiated, India wagged its tail in the last two tests under the captaincy of Pat Cummins. The usual skipper is currently in Sydney due to his mother’s failing health.
Here are some of the best Twitter reactions:
Great captaincy from Steve Smith so good with the bowling changes and field positions and Australia are absolutely on top 👏👏
Steve Smith ke captaincy Mai alag Australia lag rahi ha..🥵😷
Steve Smith’s Outstanding Record As Test Captain
Since being named understudy to Pat Cummins, Steve Smith has won both tests as captain. The 33-year-old guided Australia to a 275-run win against England in the 2021-22 Ashes. He then helped the Australians beat the West Indies by 419 runs in a day-night test last year.
Smith will now look to record a hat-trick of wins by helping the visitors battle it out in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
So far, Smith has led Australia in 37 events, with 20 wins and 10 losses. He was ousted as regular captain following the infamous Sandpaper scandal incident against South Africa after the third test at Newlands in Cape Town in 2018.
Meanwhile, Pat Cummins has led Australia in 15 Tests, guiding Australia to eight wins, with four games ending in draws. The Aussies top the table in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle under his leadership, with series wins against England, Pakistan, the West Indies and South Africa.