‘Are you a sniff the pitch person’ – Former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn takes brutal dig at Pat Cummins-led Australia

Dale Steyn, Steve Smith (Image Credit: Twitter)

The first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was against the expectations that the fans had ahead of the game. Given the history and the Test rankings of the two teams, it was expected to be a cracker. However, ahead of the game, the pitch at the VCA stadium in Nagpur was more in discussion than the players from both teams.

So much so that the Australian media was accusing the Indian team management of ‘doctoring’ the wicket. So much so that some of the Australian players were caught inspecting the wicket. However, as it turned out, the visitors surrendered in front of the Indian team in the first three days of the game. Meanwhile, after the game, former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn took a brutal dig at the World’s Number One Test side.

“So quick question to you cricket people. How does one like to read a pitch? Are you a get down on your knees and almost sniff the pitch person or a general stand and observe from the pitch side? Lastly. Did it really help you?,” Steyn wrote on Twitter.

So quick question to you cricket people.

How does one like to read a pitch?

Are you a get down on your knees and almost sniff the pitch person or a general stand and observe from the pitch side?

Lastly. Did it really help you?

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) February 11, 2023

India thrashed Australia inside three days to take 1-0 lead in the series

Meanwhile, talking about the game, Australia won an important toss and decided to bat first. However, not much went in favor of the Kangaroos. Batting first, the World’s Number One Test side was bowled out for 177 runs. Ravindra Jadeja, who made his comeback after more than five months, took a five-wicket haul. On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin took three.

In reply, after being reduced to 168/5, the home team reached 400 all-out, thanks to a hundred from skipper Rohit Sharma and fifties from Axar Patek and Jadeja. For Australia, debutant Todd Murphy took seven wickets. After trailing by 223 runs at the end of the first innings, the Pat Cummins-led side needed to put up a good score to have a chance in the game. However, they were bowled out for 91 runs, losing the game by an innings and 132 runs.