Smith regains midas touch

IN many ways, it was coming. From the moment he got that century in Brisbane, Steve Smith seemed like he was going to pile on.

- GOMESH S

IN many ways, it was coming. From the moment he got that century in Brisbane, Steve Smith seemed like he was going to pile on. It was always going to be about getting that one innings out of the way. The moment he did that at the Gabba, he knew he was not going to stop. Even on day two of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, long before the play began, the former Australian captain was among the first to hit the outdoor nets. He had spent enough time getting into this zone before he even took strike on Friday morning. It's nothing new if you had followed Smith's career. It's just the way he operates.

In Melbourne, he had come in to bat at a time Australia had settled in. The ball was softer and he was not up against a lethal and fresh Jasprit Bumrah. Something he had spoken about in Brisbane as well. All he had to do, in his own words, was to trust the process and stick to the methods. He believed that he was out of runs and not out of form. And once the runs came at The Gabba, that, too, was off his back. That he had spent a lot of time facing left-arm spinners in the nets in the lead up to the Boxing Day Test only helped.