Australia captain Steve Smith taunted India’s ploy of preparing a rank turner in Pune for the first Test, where the visitors romped to a 333-run win. The victory was masterminded by left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who finished with career-best match figures of 12/70.
Smith observed that the variations O’Keefe and off-spinner Nathan Lyon were able to extract played a key role in his side ending their nine-match losing streak in Asia. “It was up to them to prepare a wicket and they prepared a wicket that actually played into our hands,” he said.
“I think it was certainly a wicket that was likely to suit the Indian players,” Smith added. “I think it evened up the contest a lot more. We saw the way our spinners bowled on that. They were able to generate some good spin and good natural variation out of the wicket. It would be interesting to see what they come up with come Bangalore [for the second Test].”
The world No1 Test batsman revealed that he had been keeping track of when Australia last won in India, which was way back on October 29, 2004, in Nagpur. “Coming to India, we haven’t won a game here in 4,502 days,” he said. “I have been told those facts. So, it has been an incredibly long time. Guys have been excited by the opportunity to come and play here. We know it’s a great challenge and in this game the boys were up to the challenge.”
Smith also took a dig at predictions of Australia slumping to another whitewash. “The pressure was on us,” he said. “Everyone wrote us off and expected India to win 4-0. That can’t happen anymore. It’s great to have won this first Test match and there is still long way to go throughout this series. India are going to come back hard. I am really proud of the way the boys have played in this Test match and go one-up in this series.”
The 27-year-old noted that cashing in from a position of strength went a long way into outplaying the hosts on all three days of the Pune Test. “We probably kept the foot on the throat,” he said. “When we got ourselves in the positions to win in Sri Lanka, we let the opposition get back into the game. In this Test, we didn’t let India back in the game after the first innings. It was certainly a positive that we were able to dominate throughout the Test match.”
Smith also revealed that Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s patience was wearing thin on his fielders, who dropped the former on four different occasions. “I think he was getting a little bit angry on the fielders for dropping catches,” Smith said. “He is obviously a world-class player and we expect him to comeback hard. Players miss out now and then and unfortunately [for him] he missed out in this game.”