“That is as good a boundary save as you would see. It does not get better than that”, was what the commentators said after seeing Steve Smith’s agility. In the third T20 match between India and Australia, Steve Smith showed us a wonderful piece of his fielding when India came on to bat.
A clip of the save has been shared on social media by the official Twitter account of Cricket Australia and has got viral in no time. A few days ago, Shoaib Mailk came up with an amazing catch during a match in the Lanka Premier league and perhaps he has got good competition from Steve Smith in terms of athleticism.
The Video Of Steve Smith That Went Viral
In the T20 match being played at SCG, India won the toss and decided to bowl first. Coming on to bat first, Australia mustered a little less than what they did in the last match. Australia scored 186/5 in 20 overs. Wicketkeeper-Opener Mathew Wade player a brilliant knock of 80(53) to take Australia to a defendable total. Glenn Maxwell played a great cameo of 54(36) and Steve Smith also played a decent inning of 24 (23). Other than these three, all the other Australian batsmen scored single-digit runs. Australian captain Aaron Finch, who made a return in the lineup after missing the second T20, failed to leave a mark.
That’s a six-saving special from Smith! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/1jliGv071Y
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 8, 2020
Coming on to chase, team India got a horrible start. Opener Kl Rahul was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell for a duck. His partner Shikhar Dhawan scored 28(21). Then, captain Kohli came to take control of the innings. He played a brilliant knock of 85(61) but unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to lead his team to victory. Unfortunately, Hardik Pandya couldn’t finish this match for India as he has done throughout the Australian tour. This was perhaps the only match of the tour where he has failed to perform.
During Virat Kohli was still batting, Steve Smith showed us that amazing save that is the talk of the town right now. Australian captain sent Mitchell Swepson to bowl in the 12th over against Virat Kohli. In the third ball of the over, Virat Kohli hit the ball hard towards the long-on. It was definitely going to be a six. Then out of nowhere, came Steve Smith who threw himself into the air towards the ball and pushed the ball back into the field while still being airborne himself. He thus saved four crucial runs for his team. Everyone including the crowd, the Australian players and even Virat Kohli himself, started applauding for Smith.
Finally A T20I Loss For Team India; What Next For The Two Teams?
Australia won the third T20 match by 12 runs. Irrespective of that, India has won the series 2-1. However, a new challenge awaits the Indian side now. Next up, is the test series between India and Australia and the Indian fans already look concerned regarding that. There are many valid reasons for the concern though.
Firstly, Virat Kohli will not be available in the last two test matches. Secondly, Rohit Sharma’s availability is still under doubt. Most probably, he would also not be playing the test series. It is now to see how India performs in the Test series in the absence of its two best batsmen.
