India v Australia: Steve Smith looking to take momentum through India series
Updated
Australia captain Steve Smith is hoping a lack of scar tissue in the current Test side will help it capitalise on the stunning success in Pune.
The shock 333-run victory in the series-opening Test continued a resurgence for the team but also Smith, who said the win was one of the best he had been a part of during his Test career.
Leading a relatively young squad, it was two of the side's least-experienced campaigners who were the chief destroyers.
Steve O'Keefe's staggering 12-wicket performance and opener Matt Renshaw's gutsy displays belied their combined 10 Tests of experience.
But Smith suggested that fresh perspective was a boon to an Australian side riding high after the first win on Indian soil since 2004.
Of the current Australia XI, only Smith, David Warner, Matthew Wade, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were around for the calamitous 2013 tour.
"The fact that we had some younger players here who haven't experienced here before — no scars — they were able to go out and just play the game," he told Grandstand.
"I think Matthew Renshaw was a perfect example of that. I thought he formulated a beautiful plan.
"He played really well, and to score 60 and 30 in his first game on that wicket at the age of [20] is an incredible achievement.
"Hopefully we can see more improvement from the guys going forward, but [I'm] really proud of that performance."
Bizarrely, some of the current crop will only have happy memories of playing in India, which is even more unbelievable considering the pitch on which they thrived.
The curator offered up what Smith called the "driest ... most inconsistent spinning surface I've ever seen".
Those sort of rank turners are supposed to be kryptonite for Australia's batsmen and bowlers, but it was the tourists who looked at home.
Now the eyes turn to the Bangalore strip for the second Test.
"It'll be interesting to see what they come up with," he said.
"But to know that we can play the way we can and outplay them so convincingly in these conditions, it's very pleasing."
Topics: cricket, sport, india, australia
First posted
