Published 19:34 IST, November 5th 2019
WATCH: Imperious Steve Smith hits a four with the back of his bat
Steve Smith's insane uppercut off Wahab Riaz stood out during the 2nd T20I against Pakistan at the Manuka Oval on Tuesday. Smith scored an unbeaten 51-ball 80.
Steve Smith had earlier proved why he is arguably the best Test batsman of this era against arch-rivals England in the Ashes. Now, he proved to be a valuable batsman for Australia by playing a match-winning knock against Pakistan in the second T20I at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Tuesday where the hosts had cruised to a seven-wicket win with a stellar knock of a 51-ball 80. However, what stood out the most was one of his uppercuts off one of Pakistan's finest pacers Wahab Riaz.
Smith on his insane shot
During the post-match press conference, Steve Smith was asked plenty of questions about his uppercut by the reporters and he himself seemed to be astonished while answering their questions.
''Yeah, it wasn't meant to go there, it was more meant to go straight over the keeper but I got a little bit of an edge on it. If I hit it in the middle it probably would've been the same result, it's still nice for it to race away for four. It's nice when you don't hit it in the middle and they still go to the boundary, said Steve Smith.
The video was posted by Cricket Australia on Instagram. Watch it right here.
Even the commentators could not control their emotions on air after watching Steve Smith play the uppercut off the back of the bat. ''That's off the back of the bat, I'm not sure I can even describe that that's the late ramp off the back of the bat you feel?'', wondered one commentator. ''That's the shot of the night for me'', replied his co-commentator.
Steve Smith shines for Australia
Chasing a target of 151 runs, Steve Smith announced his comeback to the T20 side in style with flamboyance as he smashed 11 fours and a six en route to his knock of 80 runs off 51 balls. After rain forced the first T20 to be abandoned shortly after it commenced, Pakistan were hoping to maintain their dominance in the shortest format of the game but failed to do so, courtesy to Steve Smith and his role of playing savior for Australia once again. Australia have now assumed a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Updated 20:08 IST, November 5th 2019