Steve Smith aims to improve as a T20I batsman after hammer Pak in T20

Australian star batsman Steve Smith's unbeaten 80 against Pakistan in the 2nd T20 international on November 5 helped his team to a 7-wicket victory. Now, the batsman has said that he wants to better his record in the shortest format of the game. Smith's match-winning knock of 80 off 51 balls included 11 fours and a six. It was his fourth half-century in the T20s.

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Smith's statistics

While Smith's track record as a batsman is illustrious, especially in Tests, his record in T20 leaves much to be desired. His T20 average is just 27.48 in 35 matches. However, Smith attributed it to him being a leg-spinner who batted lower down the order. Since moving up to number 3, his average has gone up to 48.57. He said he used to bat at number 8 or 9, which was not easy and affected his record. But he stated he had faith in his ability, and he uses placement and timing to his advantage.
The 30-year-old's versatility can be judged from his nickname ''Mr Fix-it'', and he takes his role as the problem solver seriously. He said that while chasing, he takes into account the run rate required, the bowlers to target, and works out the math to successfully chase it down.

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In contrast, when his team is batting first, the Australian said that things that need to be considered include summing up the playing condition, behaviour of the wicket, what kind of score can be achieved, etc. He added that with his vast experience, his role on the team has evolved to fix the situation in case the top order did not come off.

Smith's teammates value him for his ability to be the team rescuer at times. Spinner Ashton Agar told a sports website recently that the team is totally in awe of Smith and often wonders how he plays some of his shots and executes them so well every time. Agar stated that people sometimes call Smith's obsession with the game crazy, but the player gets the job done every time.

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