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Steve Smith’s record in India is one of the best in the world for foreign batters but Australia’s big question for the upcoming four-Test series is who will step up so he’s not fighting a lone battle?
Smith enters the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series full of confidence after collecting his fourth Allan Border Medal on Monday night before the team jetted off to India on Tuesday to prepare for next week’s opening Test in Nagpur.
The 33-year-old will undoubtedly be the kingpin of Australia’s batting line-up on the turning tracks in the subcontinent.
While Australia has four players ranked in the top eight on the ICC Test rankings – Marnus Labuschagne at the top, Smith second, Travis Head fourth and Usman Khawaja eighth – only the vice-captain has a decent record in Asia, in India itself and against them overall.
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Smith averages 50.87 in Asia, more in India – an even 60 from his 660 runs – and that blows out to 72.58 from in 14 matches against them when you factor in his eight clashes on home soil.
Steve Smith of Australia celebrates reaching a century. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
He has toured India twice – in 2013, before he had cemented his spot in the Test team, for the last two matches of the 4-0 series loss and the 2017 trip which also ended in defeat, a 2-1 margin.
Smith showed a glimpse of his future run-scoring potential with a determined 92 in Mohali 10 years ago as he tallied 161 from four knocks at 40.25 but when he returned four years later, he was the thorn in the home side’s side.
He registered 499 for the four-match series at 71.28, including a second-innings 109 in the first Test at Pune to set up Australia’s only win and a masterful unbeaten 178 in Ranchi which led to the visitors forcing a draw in a back-breaking match for bowlers in which only 25 wickets fell across the five days.
No other Australian batter scored half as much as Smith on that tour and only Glenn Maxwell, who scored 104 in one of his two Tests, averaged higher than 35 at 39.75.
Labuschagne, Khawaja, Head and Cameron Green, if the all-rounder recovers in time from his broken finger, have never played in India while veteran opener David Warner’s record should be a major concern.
The 36-year-old left-hander, who saved his Test career with 200 in the Boxing Day match against South Africa after a lean three-year run, has made 1274 runs at 33.52 in Asian conditions with just one century in 39 innings.
Warner’s numbers drop even further to 388 runs at 24.25 with no hundreds from 16 trips to the crease in India.
Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
Khawaja was unlucky not to play in India in 2013 when he was one of four squad members banned for a match by Mickey Arthur in the infamous “homeworkgate” saga when the coach asked players to prepare a written task about how the team could improve.
After initially struggling with spin – failing to get past 26 in his first nine innings in Asia – he has turned that around in the latter part of his career to now average 57.58, nearly 10 runs higher than his overall mark, on the continent of his birth after three hundreds and a couple of 90s against Pakistan.
Green’s availability for the series opener is clouded – he may play as a specialist batter if he’s unable to bowl his seamers but his replacement options in the middle order in Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb each have modest records on Asian pitches.
If Green is unable to play, Australia could look to bring in Ashton Agar at No.7 as a second or even third spinner and promote wicketkeeper Alex Carey in the order but with question marks over most of their batters, it will be a gamble if they roll with a 7-4 or 6-5 split in the make-up of the final XI.
| All Tests | In Asia | In India | Vs India | |
| Steve Smith | 8647 runs at 60.89 | 1577 at 50.87 | 660 at 60 | 1742 at 72.58 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | 3150 at 59.43 | 400 at 33.33 | Has not played | 464 at 51.55 |
| David Warner | 8132 at 46.2 | 1274 at 33.52 | 388 at 24.25 | 1148 at 33.76 |
| Usman Khawaja | 4162 at 47.83 | 979 at 57.58 | Has not played | 198 at 28.28 |
| Travis Head | 2126 at 45.23 | 213 at 21.3 | Has not played | 299 at 29.9 |
| Cameron Green | 806 at 35.04 | 259 at 43.16 | Has not played | 236 at 33.71 |
| Matt Renshaw | 641 at 33.73 | 308 at 25.66 | 232 at 29 | 232 at 29 |
| Peter Handscomb | 934 at 38.91 | 344 at 34.4 | 198 at 28.28 | 303 at 25.25 |
Australia opted not to play a tour match in the lead-up to the first Test, believing specially scarred-up pitches at home were better practice wickets.
Previous touring parties have found it a virtual waste of time to play a warm-up game on a pitch which looked to have been doctored to bear little resemblance to what the teams face in the Test arena and they “barely faced any spin”.
Smith told reporters at Sydney Airport on Tuesday before they flew out to India that they were confident in their preparations.
“The last time we went I’m pretty sure we got served up a green-top (for the practice match) and it was sort of irrelevant,” he said.
“Hopefully we get really good training facilities where the ball is likely to do what it’s likely to do out in the middle, and we can get our practice in.
“We’ll wait and see when we hit the ground. I think we’ve made the right decision to not play a tour match.
“We’re better off having our own nets and getting spinners in and bowling as much as they can.
“We’ve got some challenges in front of us, but the guys are ready for it. I’ve never won there, I’ve been there twice. It’s been very difficult playing there.”