The slipping fortunes of Smith

The last time Steven Smith visited India for a Test series in 2017, he was their captain and their best batsman who stood between India and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) till the final Test in Dharamsala spun India's way.

He scored 109 in the third innings of the first Test on a Pune pitch where India managed 105 and 107 in their two innings. But, even as the right-hander tormented the Indians with his batting, there were some not-so-edifying incidents involving him that soured the relations between the two fierce rivals.

Whether it was his brain-fade moment in Bengaluru in the second Test when he appeared to be seeking the change-room's advice on taking DRS referral, prompting then India captain Virat Kohli to charge the Aussies with cheating or him being caught on camera allegedly calling M Vijay a "f****** cheat" for claiming a catch during the final Test at slip (the catch was eventually ruled not out by the third umpire), Smith didn't cover himself in glory either as an individual or captain. But as a batsman, he was head and shoulders above the rest, amassing 499 runs at just over 71.

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Having lost the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, Australia have lost a chance to regain the BGT, which has stayed with India since 2017, but they still have an opportunity to redeem themselves in the remaining two Tests. And Smith, who will lead the side in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins, will have to summon his 2017 form for that to happen. With scores of 37, 25 n.o., 0 and 9, Smith has had an underwhelming series so far but he remains the tourists' best bet to reverse their fortunes.

Though a bit fortuitous during his Pune innings on a crumbling pitch, Smith looked positive against the same spinners -- R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja -- who are giving him sleepless nights now. With 1813 runs in 16 Tests at an average of 67.14 against India, which is far superior to his career average of 60.12, including eight centuries and five half-centuries, it's evident Smith loved the Indian attack as much as the Indians hated his sight at the crease.

What needs to be looked at, though, is that most of these runs were scored before India's visit to Australia for the 2018-19 series which Smth missed, along with David Warner, due to a ban following their involvement in Sandpaper-Gate. Since then, Smith has averaged fewer than 39 against India in six Tests for a total of 384 runs.

Agreed, Smith was six years younger in 2017; swift on his feet and supple with his wrists, twin traits that enabled him to survive his risk-ridden shuffle-across-the-stumps movement. Pushing 34, Smith appears to have lost some of that edge and the old assuredness in the crease is conspicuous by its absence.

This is peculiar to batsmen with a dodgy technique. Where he used his feet to score freely on either side of the wicket on the last tour, the Sydneysider has looked largely tentative on far better wickets, unsure of whether to step forward and smother the spin or go back and defend. This lack of clarity, which can be extended to the entire Australian squad, has even forced him to uncharacteristically sweep to his doom.

On Sunday and Monday, Smith and his team-mates went through long "net" sessions where the sweep shot appeared sporadically, as if they were struggling to overcome a bad habit. Stepping forward to defend or attack the spinners was the theme of their training.

Even the throwdowns from coach Andrew McDonald resembled darts that Jadeja and Axar Patel would regularly dish out. Smith was no exception, spending lengthy time in the "nets" where he faced a variety of spinners - from both the Australian team and local supplies - but it remains to be seen how much of that effort translates into success, come match day.