IND vs AUS: Stand-in skipper Steve Smith pats himself on the back after emphatic win in Indore

Steve Smith on Friday said he has done an “incredible job” as a stand-in skipper after leading Australia to a thumping nine-wicket win over India in the third Test at Indore.
“I really enjoyed it and like captaining in this part of the world as I understand the conditions really well,” Smith told the broadcasters after the match.
“There’s an event every ball and a lot different to the other parts of the world, and I did a reasonable job this week.”
Smith says everything went his way including the toss he lost.

Australia chase down the target comfortably to win the third Test in Indore 🙌#WTC23 | #INDvAUS | 📝 https://t.co/FFaPxt9fIY pic.twitter.com/ylOX2GLLZq
— ICC (@ICC) March 3, 2023
“I think obviously that first day, losing the toss and having to bowl first. But our bowlers did really well, especially Kuhnemann. All our bowlers contributed. With the bat, Usman was really good in the first innings. We had some good partnerships,” he said.
Smith admitted that they had toiled hard on Day after a batting collapse and the way Cheteshwar Pujara batted in the second innings.
“India bowled really well in the back end, we had a bit of a collapse. We had to toil hard yesterday, Pujji played a good knock, but all our bowlers did really well. It was a complete performance in the end,” he said.
Australia’s win also helped them to secure their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
“It’s good to be in the WTC final but it’s just about playing good cricket. Hopefully we can finish the series well.”
India are leading the four-match series 2-1 after having won in Nagpur and New Delhi.

The fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series will be played in Ahmedabad.