Smith finding form

World Cup awaits for returning Aussie batsman

AUSTRALIA’S Steve Smith hit an unbeaten half-century to lead his Indian Premier League side the Rajasthan Royals to a comfortable win after being appointed captain.

Smith was given the leadership job in place of India’s Ajinkya Rahane ahead of the game against the Mumbai Indians in Jaipur, despite the Australian being barred from leading the national team over a ball-tampering scandal.

Man-of-the-match Smith, who along with compatriot David Warner missed the 2018 edition of the Twenty20 tournament because of the scandal, made an unbeaten 59 off 48 as Rajasthan won by five wickets.

“Haven’t contributed as much as I’d like through this tournament, it was nice to get off to a good start and take the boys home,” Smith (pictured) said after his team’s third win in nine games so far. “We can’t worry about other results, it’s about us and our processes.

“For us, it’s a final, every game. We did well to pull it back to 160 (161) and executed our skills well,” he added.

The star batsman hit five fours and one six to anchor Rajasthan’s chase as they achieved their 162-run target with five balls to spare.

The Rajasthan bowlers restricted Mumbai to 5-161 in 20 overs despite a brisk 65 from South African wicketkeeperbatsman Quinton de Kock.

Smith and Warner were not allowed to compete in last year’s IPL despite their oneyear suspension restricted to club and national games for

Australia.

The former Australian captain has made his way back into the national team for the ICC World Cup but cannot take on formal leadership responsibilities for another year.

Smith and Warner’s cheating ban ended last month and the two have launched into the IPL campaign as they seek to restore their reputations.