How can India stop the Australian 'Optimus Prime'?

Steve Smith (Source: Twitter)

The D-day is fast approaching. It is the Border-Gavaskar trophy, India and Australia are all buckled up for the battle in the purest format of the game. 

Australia will be looking to revenge the home series defeat in 2021. And the most important cog in Australia's journey to redemption will be Steve Smith. Batting at number four Smith will be someone on whom the visitors will depend for stability in the batting. 

Smith's records in India shows us that there is enough reason that Australia can trust him. He is a good player of spin and will be as always a headache for the Indian team that will like to get rid off. Let us look at some numbers that might give us an idea of why the wicket of Steve Smith is so necessary. 

(Source: OneCricket)

So, the current form and Smith's records in India, everything shows that India should be very wary of the man.

 Here, the question arises, what should India do to stop Smith? The answer to that might lie in against which type of bowling is he the weakest. But even before that, let us look at the resources that would be available to India. 

Indian Bowlers in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (2023)

(Source: OneCricket)

Now keeping in mind these resources if we look at Smith's number versus the different types of bowling, we might find a weakness. 

Source: OneCricket

So from the stats we can say that there is no visible weakness of Smith against a particular type of bowling. Although, his numbers are a bit worse against left-arm medium and left arm orthodox bowlers, but there is nothing on which India can work on and use them particularly against him. 

This led us to investigate further the recent dismissals of Steve Smith in Test cricket. Based on our analysis and investigation we will suggest the plans India can device against the talismanic Australian batter. 

Probable plan of faster bowlers against Steve Smith

From the videos of the recent dismissals of Steve Smith we can say that the ideal length to bowl to Smith would be just short of the good length and the line has to be the fourth stump line.

But the Indian bowlers will have to be very careful in their execution of the plan, as the margin for error will be very less. A bit too short or a bit too wide might result in the bowlers getting punished. 

Even though this seems like a weak point, it will be very hard to exploit on Indian pitches as there will be very little bounce available for the bowlers. The deck at Dharmasala might be the ideal wicket where the Indian bowlers can exploit the weakness throughout the match. 

(Source: OneCricket)

Barring the Dharmasala pitch it will be difficult for the pacers stick to this plan and get rid of Smith. So, the Indians will automatically look at the spinners to dismiss the biggest obstacle of their path. 

The ideal bowling type for Smith would be left arm orthodox spinner. 

Probable plan of spin bowlers against Steve Smith

Left arm orthodox bowler against Smith, round the wicket should be ideal against Smith. The Aussie batter has a tendency to play for the spin and in that case if a ball genuinely turns and creates a doubt in his mind, the straighter will then become really lethal. 

With one ball turning and the next not that much, Smith could be trapped in front of the stumps as a serious candidate eligible for Leg Before Wicket. Well speaking of the ideal line and length, the good length aiming for the three stumps looks to be best. 

In my opinion the best bowler suitable to exploit this will be Axar Patel. So, whenever Patel plays, watch out for the Smith-Patel duel. 

(Source: OneCricket)

Conclusion

Steve Smith is a world class batter and there is no argument in it. Also, Test cricket is his arena and he is the most dangerous in this format. There may be many plans and areas that the opposition will work on against him, but great batters like Smith always find a way. 

If India exploit these areas, the battle between the Indian bowlers and Smith will be even more spiced up. It will be a great treat to watch how Smith counters the plans and establishes his authority. 

Also Read: Three Indian players to watch out for in Border Gavaskar series