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Steve Smith said on Monday that his side's preparation for the ICC World Test Championship final against India is going well and he was looking forward to the next two months of the exciting cricketing auction, which will see the Aussies taking on India in England from June 7 onwards before taking on arch-rivals England in the Ashes series, which will start from June 16.
Smith held a Q/A session with his fans on Instagram where he answered questions from fans on Indian Premier League (IPL), the WTC final and the Ashes. On his preparations for the WTC final, he said, "Yeah, it is good (preparations for WTC final). I have been on a bit of a break, a bit of a pre-season here for a couple of weeks to keep things ticking over and then get back into my cricket prep pretty soon and it is obviously an exciting couple of months coming up, looking forward to it," said Smith on being asked about preparations for the 'Ultimate Test'. Australia finished at the top of the ICC WTC table with 11 wins, three losses and five draws in 19 matches. They had a win percentage of 66.67 per cent. India on the other hand, won 10 out of their 18 Tests, lost five and drew three to finish at the second spot with a win percentage of 58.8 per cent. In the current 2021-23 WTC cycle, Smith is the sixth-highest run-scorer with 1,252 runs in 19 matches and 30 innings at an average of 50.08. He has scored three tons and six fifties, with the best score of 200*. He is the third-highest scorer for Aussies, behind Marnus Labuschagne (1,509 runs) and Usman Khawaja (1,608 runs) On his favourite Ashes match, Smith said, "For me, Edgbaston 2019 would be tough to go past as a player. As a spectator, the 2005 entire series was outstanding to watch." In that Ashes Test match, Smith was making a return to the sport after serving an year-long suspension for the 2018 Ball Tampering Scandal. Smith smashed centuries in both innings, smashing 144 and 142 to guide Australia to a 251-run win. In a five-match series that ended in a draw by 2-2, Smith emerged as the leading run-scorer, smashing 774 runs in four matches and seven innings at an average of 110.57. He scored three centuries and three fifties with the best score of 211. The 2005 Ashes, which took place at the peak of Australia's powers in the sport, was a five-match affair that England won by 2-1 at their home, their first-ever Ashes win since 1986-87. On his favourite knock at ICC events, he chose his century against India in the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinal at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) as his favourite. Smith made an explosive 105 off 93 balls, studded 11 fours and two sixes, taking the Aussies to 328/7 in 50 overs. India was bundled out for 233, losing the match by 95 runs. Australia won the World Cup, their fifth world title. Smith emerged as the sixth-highest run-scorer in the tournament with 402 runs in seven innings at an average of 67.00 with one century and four fifties. (ANI)
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