Melbourne, Dec 27 (PTI) Yashasvi Jaiswal’s run out will be huge in the broader context of the fourth Test match against India as it also affected Virat Kohli’s concentration, who till then looked good for a “masterclass”, said Australia’s batting hero Steve Smith on Friday.
Jaiswal, who was quite fluent during his 118-ball stay that yielded 82 runs on the second day, was way short of his crease after a mix-up with Virat Kohli (36) while attempting a quick single, handing Australia the breakthrough that could prove decisive.
“He (Kohli) was really disciplined today, he was leaving nicely, making the bowlers come to him a bit more and scoring well through the leg side and when we went short. So, yeah, I thought we were in for a bit of a masterclass there,” Smith told reporters after Kohli was dismissed following Jaiswal’s run out.
Earlier, riding on Smith’s 140 — his second successive century of the series — Australia scored 474 and then reduced India to 164 for 5. This was after Jaiswal and Kohli (36) had added 102 runs for the third wicket.
The horrible mix-up led to Jaiswal’s run out and affected Kohli’s concentration, who then fished at a delivery outside off-stump.
“Looks like Jaiswal called yes, ran, and Virat sent him back. Simple as that. Yeah, I didn’t see much more than that,” Smith, who scored his 34th hundred on the day, said.
“It was obviously a really good partnership to break that one. And then obviously get the two more wickets. It was a huge last hour for us. So, yeah, that was a big play in the context of the day, I suppose,” the former skipper said.
Asked if Australia could have ran Kohli out instead of Jaiswal, he broke into a laughter.
“Look, he’s a class player, we know that. Obviously, he played really well in Perth for that 100. And he looked really good today, I thought, ‘Jeez’ (Jesus), he’s in for a good one here. And it was probably the first ball. I think he actually hardly played at on that 5th-6th stump line.
“But fortunately, you know, Barrell (Boland’s nickname) got one to sort of straighten probably off the line on that 5th-6th stump and he probably was one of the only ones he played at. So, yeah, I was fortunate to catch the edge,” said a pleased Smith. PTI KHS AH AH
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