India vs Australia: Steve Smith Caged Lion Ready to Burst Out, Says Tom Moody

Steve Smith is a "caged lion ready to burst out," said former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody on Wednesday, backing the star batsman to come good in the third Test against India after struggling in the first two games. Smith, considered one of the best batsmen in international cricket, could managed just 10 runs in the four innings he has played so far in the series and Moody said he is overdue for a big score.

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"You have to look at his record, he is overdue, that doesn't give you any guarantees but what it tells us that there is a caged lion ready to burst out and there is no one more determined than him to make sure that he is scoring runs in the new year," Moody told ESPNcricinfo."There is always that talk between Williamson, and Kohli and Smith, so he will be very keen to make sure he remains in that conversation regularly."India take on Australia in the SCG Test beginning on Thursday with the series levelled 1-1.

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Meanwhile Rohit Sharma returns to the top of the order for the 3rd Test  India vs Australia Test at Sydney starting tomorrow with Mayank Agarwal making way. In place of injured Umesh Yadav, Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini will make his Test debut. While Agarwal's axing was more or less certain after the opener failed to register substantial scores in the first two Tests, picking Saini, ahead of Shardul Thakur, who was the frontrunner to replace Umesh in the playing XI comes as a bit of a surprise. Shubman Gill retained his place and will have a new partner in Rohit, who will be playing in whites for the first time since November 2019, having missed the first two Test of the current series owing to a niggle he picked up during the IPL 2020 in UAE held last year.

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