![\"steve](\"https:\/\/indiansportsnews.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/steve-smith-pune-test.jpg\")
Pune: Despite being rated lowly in the run-up to the first cricket Test against India, Australia skipper Steve Smith, whose defiant ton helped the visitors thrash the hosts by 333 runs and end their 19-match unbeaten run, is overwhelmed to register their first win in the sub-continent after a gap of 13 long years.<\/p>\n
Rating his patient 109 off 202 balls in the second innings, on top of his 18 Test hundreds, Smith said getting a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series is something massive.<\/p>\n
“Thought it was going to be hardwork. I’m proud of the way the guys played. Winning the toss was a bonus, good plans in place. It’s been 4502 days since Australia won a Test in India, I know it to the day,” Smith said in the post-match presentation ceremony.<\/p>\n
“A massive lead in this wicket. We’ve got some good players of spin and good spinners.”<\/p>\n
Hailing his left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who returned with a career-best match haul of 12\/70 to help Australia dismiss India for 105 and 107, the 27-year-old Smith said: “O’Keefe was outstanding. When he pulled his length back slightly (O’Keefe), it felt he’d get a wicket every ball. You need to have some luck on a wicket like that. It took a lot of grit and determination.”<\/p>\n
Australia coach Darren Lehmann, who was himself a great exponent of taking on the spinners head-on during his playing days, is impressed with the way his wards performed in the Test.<\/p>\n
“Great result, really impressed with our batting. It’s a challenge for both sides. We learned some lessons from Sri Lanka,” he said.<\/p>\n
Lehmann, however, cautioned his side that the hosts will bounce back hard in the second Test and it will be a challenge for the Kangaroos.<\/p>\n
“A challenge to replicate that in Bengaluru. We spoke about good defence and take on the game when you can,” he said.<\/p>\n
Playing his first Test in the sub-continent, the 32-year-old O’Keefe, who returned with identical figures of 6\/35 in each inning, was deservingly named the Man of the Match.<\/p>\n
“The first innings was a bit of blur. The ball tended to skid on more than spin so it exposed the stumps and the leg before wicket,” O’Keefe said.<\/p>\n
“My first six wickets was ordinary, I had to change it up quickly. Our batters worked really hard not to get beaten on one edge,” he added.<\/p>\n
Both the sides will now face off in the second Test, starting on March 4 in Bengaluru.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pune: Despite being rated lowly in the run-up to the first cricket Test against India, Australia skipper Steve Smith, whose defiant ton helped the visitors thrash the hosts by 333 runs and end their 19-match unbeaten run, is overwhelmed to register their first win in the sub-continent after a gap of 13 long years.<\/p>\n
Rating his patient 109 off 202 balls in the second innings, on top of his 18 Test hundreds, Smith said getting a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series is something massive.<\/p>\n
“Thought it was going to be hardwork. I’m proud of the way the guys played. Winning the toss was a bonus, good plans in place. It’s been 4502 days since Australia won a Test in India, I know it to the day,” Smith said in the post-match presentation ceremony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[4744,7729,6693,466,20207,3523],"class_list":["post-33645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket-cricket","tag-cricket-news","tag-darren-lehman","tag-india-vs-australia","tag-indian-sports-news","tag-steve-okeefe","tag-steve-smith"],"yoast_head":"\n