After losing the first two matches of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023, Australia made a strong comeback in the third Test at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore and defeated India by nine wickets on Friday, March 4.
With the win, the Aussies have now sealed their spot in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023. Meanwhile, India suffered a setback by losing the contest, and their chances for the WTC final have now narrowed.
Following the touring party’s win after two embarrassing losses at the start of the series, many former cricketers lauded the leadership skills of stand-in captain Steve Smith. Notably, Australia in the third Test was captained by their star player Smith who replaced regular skipper Pat Cummins.
In the post-match press conference after the conclusion of the Indore match, Smith opened up about the reason behind his team’s massive victory and said that he treated captaincy like a game of Chess.
“It’s a game of chess, every ball means something. It’s good fun moving people and trying to make the batter think and something different and just playing games with them,” said the 33-year-old.
He further added that he loves playing in India and also cited the reason for it. The right-handed batter said since the conditions in the subcontinent are tough, it forces him to think and challenge himself.
“It’s probably my favourite place in the world to captain. You think back home in Australia, you generally play with a 3rd slip or putting a square-leg up or back or pulling a third slip to cover… there’s not much that goes on, you sort of stick to the same game plan and trust what you are trying to do. In this part of the world, you have to be very proactive. Every ball is an event and that ball can dictate what happens the ball after. Something that I really love. I thought I did it well this week and it was good fun,” added Smith.
Australia next faces India in the fourth and final test of the BGT 2023 at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad from March 9. The visiting side in the series decider will look to repeat the Indore heroics and draw the series 2-2. While India will also surely eye to defeat the Aussies in order to stay alive in the WTC 2023 final race.
