India vs Australia: ‘No one more determined than him,’ Tom Moody says Steve Smith is ‘caged lion ready to burst out’

India vs Australia: Ahead of the 3rd Test between the two teams which is set to begin from Thursday, former Australia cricketer Tom Moody said that Smith has the ability to burst out and rattle the oppositions when he is least expected to.

After smashing two back-to-back hundreds in the first two ODIs against India, the fans were expecting Steve Smith to go all guns blazing in the Tests and make an immediate impact. Smith’s form carried on in the T20Is where he scored important runs for his team. But somehow, the right-handed batsman has been unable to get runs on the board in the longest format against India.

Australia's Steve Smith walks from the field after he was dismissed. (AP)

In the first Test, Smith was dismissed for 1 in the first innings, and then only got to play a few balls in the 2nd innings. In the 2nd Test, the batsman was dismissed for a duck and 8 in the two innings, and now questions are being raised on his form.

Ahead of the 3rd Test between the two teams which is set to begin from Thursday, former Australia cricketer Tom Moody said that Smith has the ability to burst out and rattle the oppositions when he is least expected to.

“You have to look at his record, he is overdue, that doesn’t give you any guarantees but what it tells us that there is a caged lion ready to burst out and there is no one more determined than him to make sure that he is scoring runs in the new year,” Moody told ESPNcricinfo.

“There is always that talk between Williamson, and Kohli and Smith, so he will be very keen to make sure he remains in that conversation regularly,” Moody further added.

India take on Australia in the SCG Test beginning on Thursday with the series levelled 1-1.