Steve Smith says sorry for ‘letting his emotions slip’
DHARAMSALA: Australia cricket team skipper Steve Smith apologised for letting his “emotions slip” during the aggressively-contested Test series against India, saying that he was in his “own bubble” at times.
“I am proud of my performances in this series. I set myself high standards and I wanted to lead from the front with my performances. I have been very intense in my own little bubble and at times I have let my emotions and actions just falter a little bit throughout this series and I apologise for that.”
“That’s a big stride for me moving forward and something I can really learn from and continue to grow as an individual and as a leader.”, he added.
The Aussie captain also rued Australia’s batting collapses in the final Test against India in Dharamsala and added that los- ing wickets in clumps was a major factor behind the series loss.
On Day 1, Australia had moved to 131/1 but Kuldeep Yadav’s 4/69 resulted in a collapse which saw the visitors being bowled out for 300. On day 3, Australia were blown away by a combination of pace and spin as they lost 7/50 to collapse to 137 and hand India the match and the series.
In the post-match press conference, Smith said, “That was an opportunity where we could’ve really driven the game. Had we gone on to score 400-450, it could have been a different ball game. It was disappointing that we weren’t able to take advantage after being 131/1. You tend to lose wickets in clumps while playing in India.”
The Australian skipper said that maintaining a long period of consistency was the key for Australia to win. “We haven’t been able to take advantage when we have been in front. We just needed to execute the plans a little bit longer and be a bit more consistent. We had our moments to win but have not taken those opportunities against a quality opposition like India.”