"I'd worked really hard in the year or so prior to that" - Steve Smith reflects on his comeback Test in Mohali in 2013

Steve Smith recalled his first Test appearance in India back in 2013 and how he played as a specialist batter for the first time.

Smith, one of Australia's most prolific run-getters in red-ball cricket, played in the Mohali Test in 2013, 18 months after his last Test appearance as Shane Watson and Usman Khawaja faced suspension for letting their disciplinary standards slip.

The right-handed batter scored 92 in the first innings, followed by five in the second. He went on to score 46 and 18 in the final match in Delhi.

Smith soon became one of the finest Test batters of the modern era and continues to pile on runs for Australia.

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Speaking to cricket.com.au ahead of the first Test against India on Thursday, February 9, Smith reminisced about the 2013 Mohali encounter, saying:

"Firstly, that I did my homework, so I got an opportunity to play. That was my first Test back after I played two as a bowler and three as an allrounder. For me it was my opportunity to get myself back into the team. I'd worked really hard in the year or so prior to that just focusing on my batting after I let my bowling go."

The New South Wales batter reckons that the 2013 tour served as a springboard for his successful visit to India four years later. He explained:

"It was what I always wanted to do, to play for Australia as a batter. Then to get my opportunity and play well in that game and then to get my opportunity in that next game – I think I got 40-something in that last game at Delhi on an awful wicket, which gave me a lot of confidence as well.

"It also gave me a lot of confidence coming back here the next time in 2017, to know that I'd scored some runs against a couple of bowlers that were playing in that series in '13 as well. So I took a lot out of it. I always thought I could play reasonably well against spin, but then adapting to what the conditions were here was really important because playing spin here is so different to back home."

Smith was indeed the standout batter from both sides during the 2016-17 tour as he amassed 499 runs, including three centuries, in four Tests.

"It will come down to batters who can score the most runs" - Steve Smith

Ahead of the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Smith opined that the team that will handle the spinners well will win the series, stating:

"I think it will come down to batters who can score the most runs. I think both teams' spinners are going to take a fair chunk of wickets. It's just going to be who's going to score the more runs. Hopefully, it's us."

An early look at the Nagpur pitch 👀 #INDvAUS https://t.co/S3BIu7qti8

Australia, who last held the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2015, haven't won a Test series in India since 2004. Pat Cummins and Co. will be desperate to end that drought.

Also Read: "That's where Travis Head can learn from Steve Smith" - Ian Chappell on how Australia's No. 5 can succeed in India