"Thanks for the welcome, Karachi" - Steve Smith gears up for the second Test against Australia
Seasoned Australian Test batter Steve Smith landed with his side in Karachi on Wednesday for the second Test against Pakistan. After stepping foot in Karachi, the visiting vice-captain thanked fans for their welcome by posting a picture of an interesting message.
The 32-year old took to his official Instagram handle and shared a message which said:
"Hey Smith, Babar might not like it, but a century in Karachi, please!"
The right-handed batter, who missed out on a hundred in the drawn first Test at Rawalpindi, will be determined to score one in Karachi.
Smith batted at No. 4 in the opening Test and did all the hard work, lasting 196 deliveries before nicking one behind to keeper Mohammad Rizwan for 78.
However, it signaled a return to form after an underwhelming Ashes series, where the former Australian skipper averaged only 30. Smith is currently third in the ICC Test rankings for batters.
A wonderful, wonderful sight #PAKvAUS https://t.co/iMT85K6Dk4
"There's not a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers" - Steve Smith
After the fourth day of the high-scoring Test, the New South Wales batter acknowledged the lifelessness and slowness of the deck. The former top-ranked Test batter felt the spinners had little assistance from the pitch. However, Smith added that the surface hasn't deteriorated as expected. He said, as quoted by Cricbuzz:
"It's pretty benign. There's not a great deal of pace and bounce in it for the seamers. I think the spinners have offered a little bit. When you hit the right length, there's been a little bit of natural variation and you know, when you get it out a bit wider into the rough, I think there's a little bit there as well."
"So I thought it would break up a little bit more and probably turn a bit more from the start, but it probably hasn't done so. But yeah, pretty benign, dead wicket."
A healthy crowd at a Test match in Pakistan, you love to see it
#PAKvAUS https://t.co/YnGqB416lo
The Australian bowlers had a hard time in Rawalpindi, managing only four wickets across both innings. The second Test starts on March 12 while Lahore will host the final game between March 21-25.