The unorthodox champion
For someone who started as a spinner batting at No.8 to a test batsman No.1 now... that is some journey. All the coaches and coaching manuals go out of the window the moment we look at Smith. They talk about technique,stance, grace etc. being as per the book. He is a brilliant example of 'be yourself' and do what works for you, no matter who says what! Moving his back foot 'across the wicket' 'outside off stump' and front foot in 'front of leg stump' before the ball is delivered, is completely by his own book. We do not see batsman moving around when they are about to face a ball but the way fidgets or leaves the ball is totally unorthodox and probably irritates the bowlers too, but it has worked wonders for him. Imagine how many people would have told him that his technique or style is wrong! Did he care? No! All he did was do the basics right, practice, learn, adapt and enjoy. He gets on the opponents' nerves as it is really difficult to get him out. I love his reactions when he leaves the ball in his style (back facing the bowler) and the bowler is frustrated:). I heard Michael Clarke on commentary during a match that Smith practices a minimum 100 balls daily without pads. His hunger, motivation and self drive has got him to where he is today.
India v/s Australia Bangalore test match 2017
My personal experience of watching Steve Smith live was at the India vs Australia test match at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore in 2017. That was the match where Smith added new vocabulary to the cricket dictionary-- "brain fade".
India had lost the first test match at Pune on a wicket that was turning square. It was a big jolt. We were supposed to be the masters of spin but Steve Smith with all his grit and determination had scored a century in the 3rd innings of the match. Then, it was time for the Bangalore test and my excitement was sky high. It was such an insulting loss in Pune and I knew that Kohli and the team will put in everything to win the next one. Test cricket at its best! It couldn't have been any juicier for a test cricket lover like me...1 test down...at home...Kohli leading the team..everything to fight for. It was a brilliant test match. India got bowled out for less than 200 in the 1st innings and the pressure was high. Our bowlers bowled their hearts out in that test match and cricket fans like me have been dreaming of such days when an Indian bowling attack wins a match for us against the Aussies defending a total of less than 200.
Some match memories remain forever... Steve smith looked at the dressing room and went for the review after a signal from there and then called it a "brain fade" moment. We were like, what on earth is that! I am sure that would have been the most searched word that week!:)
Another one was Ishant Sharma making faces imitating Smith and that became viral too!
Kohli got the crowd involved and we were all over the Aussies..they got a taste of their medicine. We won the test from a hopeless position at the end of day 1 and I will always remember that match for the way we fought till the end!
Ashes 2019
The biggest impact he had on me was in the first Ashes test in 2019 at Edgbaston. It was his first test match after the ball tampering ban and what a stadium to start with! The Edgbaston crowd is supposed to be extremely hostile for visiting teams. This was a mouth watering moment for the crowd..An Aussie star..banned for ball tampering when he was the captain..returning to test cricket ..at the ASHES..at the first test of the series!! It really doesn't get much bigger than that. I can still remember that booing and the sandpapers from the crowd when he walked on to the field. What did he do? He scored a century in both the innings! It was massive...Australia won their 1st test at Edgbaston in 18 years!!
In the 2nd test at Lords, he got hit by Archer's bowling...Archer was steaming in and hit Smith first on his arm. Later, Smith got hit on the back of his neck and fell face down. Everybody was stunned. At that moment, the memory of Phil Hughes came rushing back. That silence at the stadium was scary. I was praying. NOTHING CAN HAPPEN TO HIM...plssss..
After all this, the physio came in to check if he was feeling fine. Smith was down for a few minutes and then sat up but he did not want to leave the field! The physio did not give him a choice and he had to leave the field to do concussion tests. He actually came back to bat later but was visibly uncomfortable. There were still some boos from the crowd but was lesser than before. The English crowd had also recognized the man's grit. The champion had managed to get a standing ovation . It takes a lot of guts if you are hit multiple times and especially at the back of the neck by a bowler bowling at 155km/hr. I had read that the spell from Archer was one of the fastest in England's history!
After a few months, we saw the web series 'Test' on Amazon prime along with my daughter. Till then she was not very interested in playing cricket. When she saw him make a comeback in that manner..with 2 centuries ..in front of such a hostile crowd..and refusing to leave the field after getting hurt and returning on the field later...it inspired her no end. Her example of "never give up, no matter what the situation" is the battle between Archer & Steve Smith and it has surely made an impact on her.
I had the fortune to be part of the historic test series win against Australia in 2018 but Smith wasn't past of the team. My dream is to watch the 2020 test series live in Australia but the virus has thrown a googly at all of us. I am still hoping the situation improves and ACB lets fans to watch the match so that I can watch my all time favorite non - Indian player bat. I want the Indian team to beat the mighty Australian team with Smith and Warner in it...that will be incredible to witness!
Jai hind
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