Australia vs India 1st ODI: Steve Smith Was Different Class Altogether, Says Aaron Finch

Australia skipper Aaron Finch put the team ahead of himself despite playing a captain's knock at the Sydney Cricket Ground against India on Friday and said he was lucky that a couple of chances he took came off well. Finch was not his usual sublime self and hit a 124-ball 114 at a strike rate of 91.94. This is quite a contrast to his usual self wherein he takes the attack to the opposition bowlers from the word go. "Found it reasonably hard to get my timing. Took a couple of chances, got lucky. We've barely been together as a team," he said at the end of the game.

While Finch found the going tough, his opening partner David Warner looked in fine flow as he hit 69 off 76 balls.

"Each guy has different strengths and weaknesses. You embrace that. Davey, he's moving beautifully. His rhythm looked outstanding," Finch said.

If Warner was good, Steve Smith was one better as he looked to be batting on a different pitch altogether.

Having sounded the warning bells going into the ODIs, Smith hit a 66-ball 105 that was laced with four sixes and 11 fours.

Commenting on the scintillating knock from Smith, Finch said: "Smudge was different class altogether."

The Australian skipper said all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has the ability to switch gears in seconds, and that was on show again in the series opener as he hit a 19-ball 45.

"Maxi, the rare ability he's got to just click his fingers and put pressure on the opposition," Finch said.

Chasing Australia's mammoth 374/6, India were restircted to 308/8 in 50 overs and lost by 66 runs.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Aaron Finch Steven Smith Glenn Maxwell David Warner Australia vs India 2020-21 Australia vs India, 1st ODI Cricket