Steve Smith Hails Virat Kohli’s India As ‘Favourites’ To Lift T20 World Cup 2021 Title

PTI, Oct 21, 2021, 5:08 PM IST

Dubai: Seasoned Australia batter Steve Smith said a ‘terrific’ Indian team is packed with some serious match winners going into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, alluding that Virat Kohli’s side will be one of the favourites to lift the title.

India thumped Australia by eight wickets in a warm-up game with Rohit Sharma (60), K L Rahul (39) and Suryakumar Yadav (38) all getting some runs under their belts. Kohli did not lead the side but came out to bowl as India were still figuring out their sixth-bowling option.

“They’re a terrific side, they have got all bases covered and some serious match-winners in there,” Smith was quoted as saying by ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.

“They’ve obviously been playing in these conditions during the last couple of months with the IPL so they’ll be used to that,” he added. Smith himself scored 57 off 48 balls in the game, crossing the 50-run mark for the first time since he struck 86 for NSW against Queensland in March.

“It was nice to spend a bit of time in the middle again. It’s never easy when you’re three down. You have to rebuild for a period there and I thought we did that pretty well. The partnerships with Stoin (Marcus Stoinis) and Maxi (Glenn Maxwell) were obviously important.”

Smith, who had given the tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh due to an elbow injury, said he is feeling ‘good and ready to go now’. He featured in two games for the Delhi Capitals in the second leg of the recently concluded IPL.

“I haven’t obviously played too many games with the IPL but I’ve spent a lot of time in the nets and getting used to the conditions, which has been nice,” he said.