Steven Smith slams his first T20I fifty in four years
Australia scored 208/3 against India in the 1st T20I in Visakhapatnam. The Men in Yellow were bolstered by a record-equaling century from top-order batter Josh Inglis (110). He shared a century stand with Steven Smith, who opened the innings for Australia. Smith went on to smash a fluent half-century, his first in the format in four years. Here are the key stats.
Smith opens for Australia
Australia had a superb start after India elected to field. According to Cricbuzz, Smith opened the batting for the first time in international cricket. While Smith dealt in boundaries, his opening partner Matthew Short became India's first breakthrough in the fifth over. Australia scored 40/1 in the first six overs. Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel bowled in this phase.
Smith's fifth T20I half-century
Smith came out of his comfort zone and displayed his attacking strokes throughout the innings. He smashed a 41-ball 52, a knock laced with eight fours. Smith, who laid a solid platform for Australia, departed in the 16th over through a run-out. The right-handed batter recorded his fifth half-century in the shortest format. He now owns 1,060 T20I runs at 25.85.
A fifty-plus score for Smith
As mentioned, Smith recorded his first half-century in T20I cricket in four years. His last T20I fifty came in November 2019, an unbeaten 80 against Pakistan in Canberra. It is worth noting that Smith last scored a T20I fifty away from home during the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup. This remains his only other overseas fifty in the format.
