Rohit, who is nursing a hamstring injury, is reportedly out of the series while skipper Kohli will be on paternity leave after the first Day/Night Test in Adelaide.

Steve Smith said that Neil Wagner is patient and consistent with his short ball approach, which might be very difficult to replicate for the Indian bowlers.

The Australian top-order batsman says he has finally found 'his hands' for the first time since the COVID-19 lockdown

The strategy had worked successfully during Australia's home series against New Zealand with Neil Wagner being the architect. Smith had returned with poor numbers by his standards. 

India without captain Virat Kohli in Tests will be akin to Australia without Steve Smith and David Warner, according to former Australia fast bowler Geoff Lawson.

McDonald pointed out the strategy had failed to work during the ODI series against India at the start of this year in his knocks of 98 and 131. 

Smith, along with Warner, was not part of the 2018-19 series against India when Virat Kohli's men won the Test and the ODI series Down Under. 

In Smith's truancy, Tim Paine was assigned the captaincy role in the traditional format while Aaron Finch led the limited-overs side.

Smith was not part of the previous series between the two teams as he was serving his one-year suspension for the ball-tampering scandal.

The RR skipper felt he and other senior batsmen should have taken more responsibility throughout the tournament after Rajasthan Royals IPL 2020 runs end with loss to KKR.

With six wins in 13 games, Smith's men are poised at the sixth position, tied on points with SRH, KXIP and KKR.

This was second successful run-chase for Rajasthan Royals in back-to-back games with Ben Stokes starring again with a half-century.

Ben Stokes 50, followed by Sanju Samson 48 fire RR to victory over KXIP despite a Gayle storm; RR go level on points with KXIP in battle for play-off berth.

Rajasthan Royals captain Steve Smith has opted to bowl first after winning the toss against KL Rahul-led Kings XI Punjab in Match 50 of IPL 2020; skipper Steve Smith shows faith in Varun Aaron.

Star Australian cricketers including Smith have been in a bio-bubble since August when they toured England before moving to the protected environment of the IPL in September.

Gautam Gambhir has said that Steve Smith has been the "main issue" for Rajasthan Royals in this season.

The English youngster has been the side's leading pacer and is currently the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament (17 wickets in 12 matches).

Rajasthan rode on a blistering 107 by Stokes and an equally aggressive 54 by Samson to overhaul the 196-run target with 10 balls to spare.

Batting first at the Dubai International Stadium, Royals amassed 154 runs on the back of vital knocks by Sanju Samson (36) and Ben Stokes (30). 

SRH skipper David Warner opts to bowl first as he expects dew factor to play a role in second innings, Jason Holder will play his first game of the season.