Glad our plan of tiring Indian bowlers worked well: Smith

Melbourne, Dec 27 (IANS) Australian skipper Steven Smith has said he was glad Australia's ploy of tiring out Indian bowlers unfolded perfectly Saturday, saying it was a pattern he had planned keeping in mind the match situation, the conditions and the opponents' bowling attack.
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The 25-year-old scored centuries in the first innings of his first two Tests in charge of Australia. He was eventually dismissed for 192 as he powered the hosts to 530 in first innings in the third Test.

Resuming at his overnight unbeaten score of 72, he started slowly letting partner Brad Haddin take the upper hand in scoring. But launched an attack on the bowlers just before tea.

“I started pretty slow yesterday, didn’t I? It was just about being patient and letting the bowlers keep coming back and tiring them. They have only got three quick bowlers and a spinner. So, the longer we keep them out there, the more overs they will have to bowl and more tired they will get. That would give us more scoring opportunities later on," he said.

“That was the plan. We knew that even if we have periods where we don’t score many runs, we will be able to catch up later on. It worked out well.”

Smith said he was preparing for a declaration so he decided to accelarate.

“I was going to declare at tea and so we were trying to get as many runs as we could before that. It was pretty fun to be honest to play a few shots towards the end.”

He also said he didn't regret missing out on the opportunity of scoring what would have been his maiden double century. 

“Not really. I was just trying to score quickly and got out to a silly shot. But that’s okay.”

India got off to a decent start in reply to Australia’s 530, finishing the day at 108 for one.

Smith said the conditions are still good for batting but disciplined bowling in the first session on day-three will fetch them rewards.

“It would have been nice to take a few more wickets this evening but if we start well in the morning by getting the ball in the right areas, we will get some rewards," he said.

“The wicket is still pretty good. The occasional one takes off a bit and if we maintain good lines, we will create enough chances.”