World No. 1 Test batsman Steve Smith recently ran 3 kilometres to punish himself for getting out cheaply during Australia's first Test against Pakistan in Brisbane.
After the first Test ended on Sunday, Smith ditched the team bus and instead ran 3 km, all the way from the the iconic GABA stadium to the team hotel, just to punish himself.
The Australian team scored a match winning total of 580 runs in their first innings of the first Test against Pakistan. But Smith didn’t have much to contribute to that. He scored 4 off 10 balls before falling prey to right-arm leg break, Yasir Shah in the 103rd over of the innings.
Smith, who made a stunning comeback to international cricket after an infamous ball-tampering ban, took just one Test series to surpass Kohli by becoming the new No. 1 in ICC Test batting rankings.
But this rare failure against Pakistan has only pushed him to play better in the next game.
According to an India Today report, Smith said, “I always punish myself when I get no runs, just like I reward myself when I score runs with a chocolate bar at the end of the night if I get a hundred. So yeah, if I get no runs I always like to have a run or go to the gym or do something just to give myself a bit of a punishment.”
Yasir Shah’s Unique Celebration
Yasir Shah celebrated Smith’s wicket in a very unique way. He raised seven fingers in the air, signalling that he has now dismissed Smith seven times in Test matches. On being asked, Smith said that the send off has given him extra motivation to be more careful against him.
"I feel the times he (Yasir Shah) has got me out, I have been on a few runs. I have been slogging in a couple of second innings ones where I was playing some funky shots and stuff so I'm not too worried," Smith said, according to an India Today Report.
"It [the send-off] gave me a bit more motivation for the next game to not get out to him. So I will probably be a little bit more disciplined against him," he added.
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