Steve Smith seemed a man on a mission when he walked out to bat against India in the first ODI. Smith normally known to score run a ball started his innings right from the fourth gear. He seemed busy picking up boundaries at will. Smith’s stroke-making eased pressure on captain Aaron Finch who helped himself to a century. But after Finch departed for 114, in walked Glenn Maxwell and both he and Smith went berserk. They took a heavy toll on all the Indian bowlers and helped Australia reach a mammoth total of 374-6.
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What does Steve Smith think of himself?
Aaron Finch thought that Smith’s innings against India in the first ODI was one of the greatest ODI innings. Finch who himself scored a century rated Smith’s knock as being the match-winning one. The Australian captain revealed that Smith considers himself as Barry Bonds, who happens to be major league baseball’s greatest home run slugger. Finch stated that Smith calls himself Barry Bonds when he is in that sort of mood. He believed the way Smith batted, it ought to be one of the greatest ODI innings ever played. His intent was palpable and that was one superlative knock.
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Was Finch happy with the overall performance of the team?
Finch admitted that he was happy with total Australia posted on board. But he said the performance of the entire left much to be desired. He rued the fact that there were plenty of dropped chances and misfields which allowed India to stay in the game. If they had been more vigilant in the field, they would have probably got India out for much less.
Aaron Finch brushed aside the fact that there might have been rustiness among the players. He felt that at this level you expect players to take such chances. As most of the players were part of the IPL while a few of the Australian players were playing in the Sheffield trophy. All the players were game ready and such mistakes don’t sit well with the Australian team.
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The most glaring drop was by Adam Zampa who put down Kohli when he was on 1. Thankfully for the Aussies, it didn’t prove to be costly. But dropping such high profile players comes with its own perils. Finch agreed that it was a grave mistake but lauded the effort of Adam Zampa for taking 4 wickets at different stages of the game. But he lauded the effort of Adam Zampa for taking 4 wickets at different stages of the game.
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Expect more fireworks from both teams as they square up in the 2nd ODI against each other at Sydney on 29th November, 9:10 AM IST.
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