I just realized that Smith - in addition to his 100s, he really needed to get 1 50+ score to take his side home. It would have made all the difference in Bangalore or here in Dharmasala. He missed out on playing an impactful innings when needed.
Im going to be very critical of Smith below but I do believe he's easily the best batsman in the world!
He only really performed when his team was truly on top, not when the chips were down.
1st Test, Australia already had a 160-170 run lead going into the 2nd innings when he got a partially lucky ton although pitch was difficult.
In 2nd Test, a 50+ score in either of the innings would have almost sealed the series! But difficult pitch and he was unsuccessful in the whole game.
In 3rd Test, the pitch on day one was an absolute pancake, Australia lost 4 wickets that day and almost all were gifts. Nobody looked like getting out and Australia should have been only one or two down.
And in 2nd innings, Smith's brain fade almost led to a defeat. But batting through the 1st innings was really good indeed but he should have accelerated with the tail, instead he didn't want to get out, but was ok with running out of partners.
In the 4th Test, Smith got out at the wrong time, he and Warner had made best use of the conditions first up and then both fell when things became a bit tricky from 131/0 to 300 all out! And in the 2nd innings, Smith got ahead of himself and thought he could smash every ball when the situation demanded otherwise..
So Smith tbh had it easy, people are looking at his 3 scores and not the circumstances and are ignoring his 5 low scores. When in fact, in such a form he needed to contribute more especially when needed! Look at Rahul, Pujara (or Kohli in previous series).. the consistency was there and that was essential and scoring in critical situations..or impactfulness, also look at Jadeja or Saha. Truly chipping in when you are behind. A 50 in such circumstances is better than a 100 in easier times, so I agree with Michael Clarke, stats are misleading, it's the impact you have on the games.
Pujara arguably made greater contribution than Smith in the series.
His 90 in Bangalore when India were trailing by 87 runs and were 4 down for almost no lead on THAT pitch.. It was worth double in such circumstances and with Australia on fire!
In 3rd Test, his double ton over day 3 & 4 and after being 320/6 is truly special. Pitch had some assistance by then and India could've lost the game & the series there and then if they had folded. But instead, he fought hard and absorbed the pressure for one more whole day and inch by inch allowed India to get totally on top by the end with team score of 600. One criticism of him would be that he should have accelerated a bit earlier and that may have gave India enough time to win the game. But regardless, it was a special innings.
