"You could see that something had ticked him" - Adam Gilchrist on Steve Smith's passionate celebration after scoring century
Steve Smith enjoyed a run of form for Australia in the Sydney Test match against India with a brilliant knock of 131 runs. The player marked his hundred with an emotional celebration in front of the SCG crowd.
Former Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist believes that recent criticism and questioning by the media about Smith's form resulted in his passionate celebration.
"He showed so much emotion and passion when he passed the 100-mark that you could see that something had ticked him off. The way people were questioning him and saying, 'You're out of form,' that annoyed him enough. It was a really emotional celebration, more emotive than we've typically seen from him," said Adam Gilchrist.
Different people use different motivational tools: Adam Gilchrist on Steve Smith
Steve Smith was under a lot of pressure to perform going into the third Test between India and Australia. After failing to get to the double digits in his four innings across the first Two test matches, many questioned Steve Smith's form during the series.
"Different people use different motivational tools and clearly something had annoyed him and it allowed him to produce his best. He wanted to let people know, 'Hang on, I'm still really really good.' We do know that," noted Gilchrist.
Steve Smith certainly found his form in the third Test match, as he scored 131 in the first innings. He followed it up with a fine knock of 81 runs in the second innings to give Australia a big lead. His two memorable knocks will have certainly silenced those who thought Steve Smith was stuck in a rut.
India fought hard to earn a draw, leaving the series level at 1-1 going into the fourth and final Test match. The fourth and final Test gets underway on January 15th at the Gabba Stadium in Brisbane.