Ravichandran Ashwin has dismissed Steve Smith thrice out of his four dismissals in the ongoing Test series so far. After Australis lost the Boxing-Day Test against India on the morning of Day 4, Smith said he allowed Ashwin to dictate terms against him, something which Smith has not allowed any other bowler to do against him. Smith has scored just 10 runs in the four innings of the Test series including a duck. This happened after he scored two centuries in the first two ODIs to start the series against India.

Speaking to Sony Sports Network after Australia lost the MCG Test, Steve Smith spoke about allowing Ashwin to dominate him in the Test series so far.

“I’ve sort of let him dictate terms and that’s something I’ve probably never let any spinner do in my career. I’ve sort of taken it to them, been a bit more aggressive and made them change things,” rued Smith.

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Steve Smith further said that he has probably not played Ashwin as good as he wanted to. He went onto add that he would have ideally looked to dominate Ashwin and put him under pressure as well.

Lack of dominance and batting time out in the middle were the two reasons that Smith specified as the reason behind him not being able to score runs for his team so far.

“I haven’t allowed that to happen, probably because I’m searching for just being out there for long enough. It’s kind of a two-edged sword in a way, but I think I’ve just got to have the confidence to take it on and play my game,” said Smith.

Searching For Time Out In The Middle: Steve Smith

Steve Smith concluded by saying that he is looking to spend some time out in the middle which he has not been able to do.

“At the moment I’m searching for time in the middle; that’s the most important thing for me. When I look at this year, 64 balls is the longest I’ve spent in the middle, during those one-day games. For me, that’s important. I find a lot of rhythm out in the middle. You can bat as much as you want in the nets but there’s nothing that can replicate what a game can do, so that for me is what I’m searching for at the moment” concluded Smith.

Meanwhile, India won the second Test by 8 wickets and drew level in the series in Melbourne.

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