BENGALURU, (Reuters) – Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith said their batsmen will aim to slow things down at the crease when they take on India in the third test in Indore starting on Wednesday after risky shot-making cost them dearly in the previous match.
Australia’s hopes of reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy have been extinguished following back-to-back defeats in Nagpur and New Delhi, with the touring batsmen struggling to score on spin-friendly wickets.
Smith was among those who played reckless sweep shots in their second innings in the Indian capital only to fall lbw or be bowled by spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who have taken 31 wickets between them in two matches.
Australia went on to lose that match by six wickets for their second consecutive defeat inside three days.
“I was pretty angry,” Smith said of his dismissal which sparked Australia’s collapse as they lost eight wickets for 28 runs. “There haven’t been too many times in my 94-test career where I’ve come off and been bedazzled by what I’ve done.
“It wasn’t the way I wanted to play. We probably rushed things a little bit and it’s something we’ll talk about. When we’ve got them on the ropes we can slow things down.
“We don’t have to play at such a high tempo and risky tempo. We had them where we wanted them, we had men out and the ability to get off strike.”
India, who are seeking a win to secure their place in the World Test Championship final in June, could bring in batsman Shubman Gill in place of KL Rahul, whose highest score in his last 10 innings is 23.
While Rahul has already been relieved of the vice-captaincy, skipper Rohit Sharma said his critics should not read too much into that, and that all squad members were still in the running.
“When we talk about players going through a tough time, anyone with potential will be given enough time to prove himself,” Rohit said.
“Being vice-captain or not doesn’t tell you anything. When Rahul was the vice-captain he was probably the senior-most. His removal doesn’t indicate anything.”
Smith, who is filling in for Pat Cummins after the skipper left to be with his ailing mother back home, said that Australia would have another look at the Holkar Stadium wicket before deciding on their own playing side.
They have options available with all-rounder Cameron Green and paceman Mitchell Starc back from finger injuries.
“What it looked like today is pretty similar to what we’ve seen throughout the series so far,” Smith said. “We’ve got a few more options now with Green and Starc back. It gives us some flexibility to see which way we want to go.”
