Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Smith set to conquer 'unpredictable' Pink Ball Test

December 02, 2024 17:13 IST

Steve Smith

IMAGE: Steve Smith was dismissed cheaply for low scores in the first Test. Photograph: Kind Courtesy Steve Smith/Instagram

The rampaging Indian team aside, a Pink-ball Test brings with it its own set of challenges, but Australian batter Steve Smith is "focussed" on taking them all head on in the game beginning in Adelaide on Friday.

Australia will enter the day/night match -- second of the five-match series -- trailing, following a heavy defeat in the opener at Perth.

 

Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, the two batting mainstays of the Australian team, were dismissed cheaply for low scores in the first Test, which Australia lost by 295 runs.

"Pink ball, it can be challenging at different times of the day or night depending on where you bat and the situation of the game and the ball and all those kind of things," Smith was quoted as saying in a Star Sports video.

"So just being really switched on. The pink ball can be a little bit unpredictable at times. So yeah, just being really focussed," he added.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins also spoke on the challenges of playing a Pink-ball Test, but felt the basics remain the same.

"I think all the basics are the same really. You know sometimes the game goes on different paces as the ball gets older and softer but it's Test cricket," Cummins said. 

© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.