Fresh injury scare for Australia as Steve Smith exits nets after getting injured

Senior Australia batter Steve Smith left the nets after getting hit on his finger during practice. The incident happened in Adelaide, just days ahead of the pink ball Test match in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Smith, who is one of the key figures in the Australia line-up was hit by a throwdown from Marnus Labuschagne.

The incident deepened Australia’s injury crisis, who already have Josh Hazlewood missing from the second Test match of the series. India Today accessed exclusive videos from the net session of the Australian camp.

Smith’s injury further deepens Australia’s batting crisis. In the first innings of the Perth Test match, the hosts were bowed out for just 104 runs, which essentially played a key role in them losing the match by 295 runs.

None of the Australia batters, barring Sam Konstas and Hanno Jacobs did well in Australian PM XI’s match against India. Both are uncapped players and are unlikely to get a chance in the 2nd Test. Australia have Jos Inglis in their line-up, who could be drafted in, in case Smith gets ruled out of the game, but that still would not solve the batting crisis that the team has been going through in recent times.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25: Full Coverage

Earlier, former Australia batter Ricky Ponting has asked Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to take a note out of Virat Kohli’s book. Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting said that the Australia batters will do well to follow Virat Kohli if they wish to come out of their form slump in this series.

Ponting spoke about the two Australian batters who have had terrible outings in 2024. Once middle-order stalwarts, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have not even averaged 30 in 2024 and now find themselves on the brink of a first-team exit if they continue to fail.

BGT: Adelaide Test Stat Pack

Speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting said that Kohli trusted his backfoot in the second innings, and trusted his repertoire of shots. He urged both Smith and Labuschagne to do the same.

“Virat went back to trusting his game and he looked like a different player in the second innings than he did in the first innings. “He got away from trying to combat the opposition and focused on his strengths,” Ponting said on the ICC Review.

“That’s what Marnus and (Steve) Smith need to do – find their own way and show great intent,” he added.