IND v AUS 2020: Brad Hogg reveals tactics to dismiss Steve Smith through both pace and spin
Australian star Steve Smith is arguably his team's best batsman across all three formats. He tends to take his game to the next level in Test cricket. He has scored 7227 runs in 73 Tests so far at a brilliant average of 62.84.
But the 31-year-old just turns into a beast when he faces Team India in Test cricket. In the 10 Tests that he has played so far against the Men in Blue, Smith has scored 1429 runs at a staggering average of 84.05 with seven centuries.
Former Australian left-arm unorthodox spinner Brad Hogg believes Steve Smith will be the biggest threat to Team India's endeavor to win their second consecutive Test series Down Under.
Hogg stated it is crucial for the Indian pacers to make use of the new ball, especially the pink one at Adelaide, to dismiss Steve Smith early on in his innings.
"When Steve Smith first comes in, especially with this pink ball, if its swinging, attack the stumps with both the in-swing and the away-swing. I would have my point quite open and try to get him open the face and push that ball through that particular region.With the inswinger, you will try to get him LBW, " Brad Hogg said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Expect Ravichandran Ashwin to extract extra bounce while bowling to Steve Smith: Brad Hogg
Steve Smith is equally effective against both pace and spin, making him a tough batsman to bowl to. However, Brad Hogg provided a few ideas on how the Indian spinners can tackle Smith's threat.
He expects Ravichandran Ashwin to use his height to extract extra bounce off the wicket. This could play a huge part in inducing an edge from Smith's bat that could go straight into the fielder's hands.
"With spin, I wouldn't have a sweeper at deep square leg when he first comes in. I will bring him up and try to get Steve Smith to play that shot that he doesn't want to play early on his innings. I would come over the wicket with Ashwin with that extra bounce. If Ashwin gets a little-bit of spin, you are creating the LBW chance and the bat-pad chance," Brad Hogg revealed.
In the 2014-15 series, Steve Smith had created a record for the most number of runs in a single Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. He had thumped 769 runs in 4 Tests at a mind-boggling average of 128.16 with four hundreds to his name.
If Smith has anywhere near a kind of series that he had with the bat in 2014-15, it would be highly difficult for the Men in Blue to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.