Former Australia skipper Steve Smith dismissed talk of a form slump but credited a more positive attitude after his battling century against India in Sydney Friday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 31-year-old reached three figures in a Test for the first time since 2019, smacking 131 for his 27th ton to help steer Australia to a first innings 338.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He bounced back after failing to reach double figures in the opening two Tests, which sparked a flurry of concern about his form among pundits and the media.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But Smith said he was never worried, pointing out that he hit pulsating back-to-back centuries in the limited-overs series against India late last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I read a lot of things and plenty of people said I was out of form so it was nice to come back into form, if that's what you want to call it," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I mean, it was only about three or four weeks ago that I scored two hundreds at the Sydney Cricket Ground. So yeah, it kind of just makes me laugh sometimes when people say that kind of thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I missed out in the first two Tests obviously and came back today and scored some runs and helped I guess put us in a decent position."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith struggled against the spin of Ravi Ashwin in Adelaide and Melbourne and admitted he made some adjustments to his game, which helped him build his near-flawless score.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He was faster on his feet and came down the wicket more, but he said it was a change in attitude that made the biggest difference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I decided to be a bit more positive. I think early on I hit him (Ashwin) over his head, sort of just put a bit of pressure on him," he said. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"So, yeah, it was a concerted effort to do that and I was happy with the way I played him."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith, who averages more than 60, faced 226 balls and hit 16 boundaries in his patient knock, surviving only an ambitious lbw review on 41.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His first century in Australia for more than three years, including a one-year ban for ball-tampering, was all the sweeter for the fact that it came in Sydney.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's always special, I love playing here at the SCG, it's a great place to bat," he said. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's my home ground and my mum and dad were here, so they were able to see that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I'm just proud to get three figures on the board and spend some time out in the middle and help us post a decent score."<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2021\/01\/aus-vs-ind-3rd-test-smith-breaks-australias-test-century-drought-against-india1.jpg", "alt_img": "image for cricket steve smith century", "alt_title": "Steve Smith", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "Aus vs Ind, 3rd Test: Slump? What slump, says Smith after long-awaited 'Special' Test century On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Steve Smith dismissed talk of a form slump but credited a more positive attitude after his battling century against India in Sydney Friday.\r\n\r\n", "seo_keywords": "Sydney Cricket Ground , India tour of Australia 2020-21, Steve Smith", "tag": "", "tagging": "Sydney Cricket Ground ,India tour of Australia 2020-21,Steve Smith,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "aus-vs-ind-3rd-test-slump-what-slump-says-smith-after-long-awaited-special-test-century", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "2317", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2021-01-08 14:58:43", "updated": "2021-01-08 14:59:53", "img_from": "Steve Smith", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "Steve Smith, Century, India, Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Test Cricket, Aus vs Ind, 3rd Test", "livescore_text": "", "livescore_link": "", "btn_text": "", "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "21", "jio_date": "2021-01-08 14:58:43", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2021-01-08 14:58:43", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/aus-vs-ind-3rd-test-slump-what-slump-says-smith-after-long-awaited-special-test-century-69885" }