Australia's Steve Smith walks from the field after he was dismissed for no score during play on day one of the Boxing Day cricket test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 26
After finding his hand in the ODI format against India earlier in November, the No.1 ranked Test batsman Steve Smith has shown struggle in the format he has excelled the most in his career. And on Saturday, in the Boxing Day Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Smith recorded his first duck against India and the first in Test cricket since November 2016.
Smith was outdone by the same bowler who dismissed him in the first innings at Adelaide for a score of just one, Ravichandran Ashwin.
On the pitch that showed ample turn, Ashwin pitched the delivery around the middle which turned leg side. Smith looked to fend it off towards square leg but the ball bounced off the bat and landed safely into the hands of Cheteshwar Pujata at leg slip. Smith departed for an eight-ball duck.
In five previous Boxing Day games at the MCG since 2014/15, Smith has scores of 192 & 14 vs India, 134* & 70* vs West Indies, 165* vs Pakistan, 76 & 102* vs England, 85 & 7 vs New Zealand. This is his first duck in international cricket against India. His previous four ducks in Tests came against England (in Brisbane, 2013), South Africa (in Port Elizabeth in 2014), Pakistan (in Abu Dhabi in 2014), and South Africa (Perth in 2016). Smith also suffered his first Test duck in four years.
With the dismissal, Ashwin became the first spinner to take two wickets inside the first 15 overs of the opening innings on Australian soil since 2001. Overall, there are five such instances in Test cricket and three of those belong to the veteran Indian spinner.
Australia had won the toss on Saturday morning and opted to bat first at the MCG. They presently lead the series 1-0 following an impressive eight-wicket in the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide last week.
