On Friday, Ravichandran Ashwin commended Steve Smith’s captaincy during the 3rd ODI match between India and Australia. The experienced spinner attributed the credit to Steve Smith for devising the strategy that led to the dismissals of Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, resulting in a momentum shift in favor of the Australian team.
As per Ashwin’s observation, Kohli and Pandya attempted to play inside-out shots against Ashton Agar, but the pitch conditions did not allow them to execute those shots effectively. Ashwin further mentioned that Smith noticed this and instructed Agar to bowl outside the off-stump, luring Kohli and Pandya to go after him.
“Let me highlight Steve Smith’s captaincy here. When Adam Zampa and Ashton were bowling, the pitch was holding a bit. Not all the balls turned, some were holding and going straight as well. Both Virat and Hardik tried to hit over extra cover and the ball fell just short of the long-off fielder. At that time, I noticed Steve Smith was constantly telling Ashtan Agar from the first slip, ‘keep bowling it outside’. He was repeating this,” Ashwin said in his YouTube channel
“Because when they see the line, they will try to go over extra cover and if the ball holds its line and goes straight, it will go straight to long-off. He also made David Warner come in a bit from long-off and set-up the entire dismissal,” he added
The strategic move proved to be fruitful as Kohli eventually chipped one of Agar’s deliveries to David Warner, which played a significant role in shifting the momentum in favor of Australia. Consequently, the Australian team clinched the match and the series with a score of 1-2.
