The former captain of the Australian Test side, Steve Smith, didn’t enjoy a great time in the middle during the opening of the five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The cracking batter was grilled for a golden duck in the first innings before he followed it with a struggling 17 runs in 60 balls.
Steve Smith has always been one of the standout performers for the Australia side, with over 9700 runs in the red-ball format at an average of more than 56. He loves batting against the Blue Brigade in the longest format, carrying an average of over 60. But the last encounter was one of the rare off days for the veteran in the office.
The right-handed batter was surprised with an in-swinging very first delivery that came at an angle and hit him right before the stumps. That was the very first time since 2014 for the New South Wales batter to be dismissed on the very first ball. He looked in better touch in the second innings before falling into the trap of Mohammad Siraj, getting an edge into the hands of the slip fielder.
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The contest result didn’t go in the home side’s way, as they were handed a 295-run defeat and now stand 0-1 down, going into the second day-night fixture at the Adelaide Oval. But the question stands would Steve Smith and the other Australian batters tackle Bumrah, who picked up eight wickets in the WA Test, and earned the ‘Player of the Match’ award?
Steve Smith describes the quality of Jasprit Bumrah across formats
The Sydney-born explained that the release point of the Ahmedabad-born is a foot closer to the batters compared to how they face the others in the world, which makes it hard to pick the length.
“From the start of his run-up, it’s just all awkward. The way he runs is different from pretty much anyone else, so the last bit of his action is different. I’ve faced him a reasonable amount now, and each time you face him, it takes a few balls just to get the rhythm of it in a way.” Steve Smith expressed during an interaction on Sydney Morning Herald.
The 35-year-old was part of the Sheffield Shield contest at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against Victoria, where he earned just three and a duck in the two innings of the encounter.
“He releases the ball closer to you than any other bowler, just the way he does it. So maybe it rushes you a bit more than you think, and it’s just an awkward action.” The experienced batter claimed.
It’s incredible how Bumrah, shouldering on 181 wickets in 41 Tests, is second on the list after Sydney Barnes, among those who have picked up more than 150 wickets in the red-ball format and carries a better average.
Steve Smith reckoned that the 30-year-old pacer is a ‘complete package’ because he has all the possible weapons in his bowling, and the batter never finds it easy to come up against him.
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“Put that together with his skill set, and he swings it both ways, and he can nip it off the seam, he can reverse it, got a good slower ball, a good bouncer, he’s pretty much the complete package as a bowler.” Steve Smith highlighted.
The incredible performance saw Bumrah topping the ICC bowling rankings for the third time this year. The action now moves to Adelaide, where India experienced a nightmare during the 2020/21 BGT trip, and Steve Smith will be eager to come back in the runs to help the home get back in the series.
