Hussey backs Smith after another poor show

Indians know Smith's strength is off the pads, so they’ve put fielders there to block up the runs but then bowled straight at the stumps, so he just has to miss one or edge one

Hyderabad: Coming into the Test series after sharing honours in the white ball series, Steve Smith was the key player for hosts. After having an impactful outing in ODIs where he played a crucial role in their victory, Smith struggled a bit in the T20 format.

Coming into Tests, everyone expected him to be on the top of the game. However, the world no.1 ranked Test batsman Smith failed to open the account as Ashwin sent him to pavilion early in the innings.

But Mike Hussey backed the cricketer saying he is a human too. “There’s definitely been a shift from this Indian team. In the past, because Steve Smith walks across the crease so much, teams have bowled wide to him, and with that, they set a more off-side field and hope he’s going to hit the ball through there. But I think this Indian team has gone the other way.”

“They know his strength is off the pads, so they’ve put fielders there to block up the runs but then bowled straight at the stumps, so he just has to miss one or edge one – he is human and can get something wrong – and unfortunately it has worked,” he added.

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