Wicket played into our hands: Smith

Steven Smith was in the mood at his post-match media address and why not? After all, his team had pulled off a massive win in the first Test against India against all expectations, perhaps even his own. And the Australian skipper used the opportunity to take a subtle dig at those who wrote them off prior to the series.

 “Right up there,” he said when asked as to how he would rate the win. “Coming to India, we hadn’t won a game here in 4,502 days. I’ve 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 this game the boys were up to the challenge.

The pressure was on us. 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 match and go one-up in this series,” he explained.

 Talking about the difference between Indian and Australian spinners, Smith admitted the less turn from his bowlers was the key to their success. “I think both and Nathan (Lyon) and Steve (O’Keefe) bowled a really good length, and just hit that length consistently. If you are challenging the defence and if you’re able to beat the bat on both sides, you have a real good chance to take wickets on that wicket. Sock (O’Keefe) was able to beat the bat on both sides and find the edge and hit the pad consistently. If you’re attacking the stumps enough like that, then you’re going to get rewards.”

 Smith felt the preparation of the Pune wicket played into their hands.
“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. So, it was up to them to prepare a wicket, and they prepared a wicket that actually played into our hands. It would be interesting to see what they come up with in Bangalore.”