Steve Smith on his conversation with Travis Head: ‘I said do your thing’ 

“Travis is consistently performing well. It’s incredible how he puts pressure on bowlers. Unbelievable batting. It’s tough to place fielders for him,” he said.

“We don’t actually say much to each other out there. He just says, ‘do your thing.’ I say, ‘do your thing,’ and we move on. It was cool to witness that again. He’s a special player right now,” Smith said.

On his emotional celebration, the 35-year-old said, “It was nice to reach three figures. It’s been a while. It’s good to contribute today. The last few games have been tricky. I’ve faced good balls and been caught down the leg side. I’ve been trusting myself and got some luck early on.”

“I’ve been changing my setup every game for the last 15 years. So it’s nothing new. This was a bouncy track, so I was standing outside the crease, keeping my left leg open. Obviously, I had some luck early on, which you need on these surfaces,” he explained about the tweak he made.

“I’ve played long enough to know that the game turns around. Last time, I was unlucky down the leg side. Today, luck was on my side. On another day, I might have nicked one of those balls,” he continued.

Although Akash Deep remained wicketless, Steve Smith praised the Indian pacer for troubling him.

“I thought Akash bowled really nicely, especially in that first spell. He was getting the ball to move significantly. He bowled a really good length. He’s a good bowler.

“It was the first time I’ve faced him. He definitely has some skill. The Indian bowlers toiled hard all day, to be fair,” he said.

“When the second new ball came, Jasprit came in and did what we know he can do. It was unfortunate to lose a couple of wickets,” he added.