“I missed the Fulthos. It wasn’t ideal,” this is one of the greatest modern batsmen who speaks the moment he distant from his team.
“My plan was to put the crew under a bit more pressure and spin the spin,” Smith said after the match. “But I didn’t do that well. I probably lost the wicket at a critical stage. If I had hit a little deeper, we could potentially get up to nearly 300. Alex was hitting really well on the other side.
Australia set India 265 for victory. However, given that this was likely the most batting-friendly surface at the venue for the entire tournament, Smith took away the chance to grow.
“I think overall I had the opportunity to post more than 300 things,” Smith said. “It was probably just too many wickets in a few stages throughout the innings. If we extend one of these partnerships a little, we probably reach 290-300, putting a little pressure on the scoreboard.
“I think the whole square block has seen a lot of cricket over the last few months, and I can see that it’s pretty exhausting, which is probably why I’ve never seen a score above 300 in a tournament so far.
Australia was also poor in this area. They dropped Rohit Sharma twice and Virat Kohli was placed at 51. But these were all tough opportunities.
“I think when you’re trying to squeeze the game and you’re trying to build a lot of pressure, you need to take those opportunities when you have 260 (264) on the board,” Smith said. “But it’s a game. It happens. It doesn’t mean that everyone drops the catch. It’s part of the game.”
