Steven Smith was a proud man, the way the Australians played as a team right through the series.
The Australia captain said, “To win that first Test match was extremely big for us. There have been tough moments throughout the series, but the way the boys have held themselves throughout the series has been terrific.”
On a personal front, Smith had a history-making series with 769 runs in four Tests at 128.16; the most runs in an India-Australia series.
As many as 5,870 runs were scored in the series; the most runs in a series of four Tests or less.
Flat pitchesSmith said the pitches had been too flat. “It has been tough to get 20 wickets in this Test series. The wickets did not break up quite as much as we thought they might. I don't know the reasons for that. The bowlers have toiled extremely hard throughout these four Test matches.”
Smith acknowledged the Australian fielding had not been up to the mark. “Perhaps if we'd taken a few more chances it might have been a little bit different. And these are not the standards we set as an Australian cricket team. We've got a lot of work to do on our fielding, to get our standards up to where we want them to be.”
On him captaining Australia, Smith said, “I've really enjoyed it. I've had a great time. All the boys have been terrific around the group. A lot of the senior players have been helping me out.”
Asked about his sensational catch to dismiss Rohit Sharma, Smith said, “It was one of those. It just stuck.”
Queried about being distracted by the Spidercam while dropping K.L. Rahul in the first innings, Smith said, “It was right above the wire, looked like it was moving as I was going for the ball. I think it's a great innovation, a great camera, but I think it just needs to be in the right place at the right time, to be honest.”
