Proud to clinch a spot in the WTC final: Steve Smith

Australia displayed a dominant show in all three facets of the game to clinch the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Holkar Stadium in Indore by nine wickets in the first session of Day three. 

With the win, the visiting side have also sealed their place in the final of the World Test Championship set to take place in June at the Oval. Steve Smith, who was leading Australia in the third Test in the absence of Pat Cummins, shared his insights on the performance of the team in this game. 

"The break came a good time for us. We were obviously disappointed with the way things ended particularly in the last game and failing to take our opportunities, and knowing after that second test we can't actually win the series. It's about taking the result out of play, have faith in our methods for long enough, we're good enough players to get the results we're after more often than not," Smith said in the post-match press conference.

"I think obviously that first day, losing the toss and having to bowl first but our bowlers did really well, specially Kuhnemann. With the bat, Usman was really good in the first innings, and we had some good partnerships. India bowled really well in the back end, we had a bit of a collapse," he said. 

The Australian skipper also stated that he likes leading the side in this part of the world as he understands the conditions very well, which helps him in his decision-making. 

"We had to toil hard yesterday, Pujji played a good knock, but all our bowlers did really well. It was a complete performance in the end. We are thinking of Patty back home, and our thoughts are with him. But I really enjoyed this week. I like captaining in this part of the world. I think I understand a lot of the intricacies. It's a place where I really enjoy, and I think I did a reasonable job this week," he said. 

My time is done as captain. It's Pat's team now. I've obviously been able to stand in this week, obviously in tough circumstances with Patty going home. Our thoughts are still with him back home as well. Look, India is a part of the world I love captaining. It's a game of chess, every ball means something. it's good to just move people and trying to make the batter do something different and, and just play games with them. It's probably my favourite place in the world to captain," he further added. 

Australia have a chance to level the series in Ahmedabad starting March 9, and Smith believes the approach of the team will remain the same from the visiting side. 

"The approach will be much the same. We have to see what the conditions are like. It's good to be in the WTC final, but it's just about playing good cricket. Hopefully, we can finish the series well," he concluded.