Steve Smith loves captaining in India and likens it to a game of chess, pushing one to stay a step ahead of the match. He too prefers playing on spin-friendly tracks rather than placid wickets that takes the game to full five days.

“They are pretty hard to come by. For us to get on top in this game particularly after losing the toss, it shows the talent in our group and the belief we have got in ourselves,” Smith said.

“We screwed it up in Delhi, letting that slip, but we had a good break and good preparation coming here.

“It was about getting our mental state right. It was about trusting ourselves and our methods. It was about having faith that we will succeed and taking the result out of play.

“ We are pleased to have qualified for the final of the World Test Championship, which has obviously been on our radar for a little while. To tick that off is worth celebrating for this team,” Smith said.

“No, my time is done. It’s Paddy’s (Pat Cummins) team now. I’m glad I’m able to stand in this week in the circumstances obviously with Paddy going home. Our thoughts are still with him back home as well.

“Look, India is a part of the world I love captaining. It’s a game of chess, every ball means something. It’s good fun moving people and trying to make the batter think. It’s probably my favourite place in the world to captain,” he said.

Written with PTI inputs

Pitch gets poor rating

Calcutta: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rated the pitch for the third Test in Indore as “poor” under the ICC pitch and outfield monitoring process.

Match referee Chris Broad expressed the concerns of the match officials after consulting the captains of both teams. The venue has received three demerit points.

The report has been forwarded to the BCCI, who now have 14 days to appeal against the sanction.

“The pitch, which was very dry, did not provide a balance between bat and ball, favouring spinners from the start. The fifth ball of the match broke through the pitch surface... and there was excessive and uneven bounce throughout the match,” Broad said.

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