Take that, pitch doctors.
Aussie Captain Steve Smith, looking for an outlet for his hurt feelings over the recent verbal onslaught on Virat Kohli and his minions with a 117 not out tally that he stretched out over 244 balls. The Indian spinners’ arms may never recover.
Kohli might not be around to shore the Indians, as he was taken in for scans on his right shoulder, upon which he fell heavily whilst trying to save a boundary. He may have stumbled on one of the barren patches that make footing on the Ranchi oval a dubious proposition.
Glenn Maxwell was also stout, unbeaten on 82 and set to resume with only 18 runs betwixt him and a maiden Test century.
It was Smith’s second ton during the series and in the process, he became the third fastest to reach the 5000-run threshold, further adding to his grasp on the claim of being the greatest Aussie batsmen of the modern era.
Maxwell can no longer be written off as a T20 specialist, as he batted through one-and-a-half sessions like a veteran, despite this being just his second appearance in Test cricket.
Thus far, there have been no claims emanating out of India that Smith padded his tally, but that is not entirely out of the realm of possibility, once Kohli’s painkillers kick in.
