Steve Smith, has bee doing wonders – be it with the bat or in the field. He has taken the fielding to another level. Although he has taken a number of stunning catches in his career so far, the one in Perth on Friday was one of his best so far. Late on Day Two of the first Test between Australia and New Zealand, Steve Smith was fielding at second slip, the former Australia captain flew to his right, stretching his full body, to take a stunning catch to remove New Zealand captain Kane Williamson off Mitchell Starc.
STEVE SMITH!
It doesn't get any better than that! #AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/fxMje4Ms7I
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 13, 2019
Soon, Twitter was flooded with praises for his heroics in the field.
CATCH OF THE SUMMER
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 13, 2019
Whoa š® one of the finest catches youād see in the slip cordon. Steve āFlyingā Smith. https://t.co/8xN5OBgUoz
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 13, 2019
OMFG!! Thatās one of the best catches Iāve ever seen! @stevesmith49
— Aaron Finch (@AaronFinch5) December 13, 2019
Steve Smith taking an amazing one handed catch off Mitchell Starc against New Zealand?
We're sure we've seen that somewhere before š pic.twitter.com/IfRKTuqFLC
— ICC (@ICC) December 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/sadeque_saad/status/1205461126625972224?s=20
https://twitter.com/NitinSa49507859/status/1205459902518267904?s=20
We just saw Steve Smith fly š³
šø Richard Wainwright#AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/4ucQXlBNEp— G o u r a v S o n i (@Gouravs15193715) December 13, 2019
Surprisingly, since November 2015, Steve Smith has taken 88 catches in 38 Tests. Despite being suspended from cricket for a year due to his involvement in the infamous ball-tampering case in South Africa in 2018, he has such extraordinary numbers.
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As far as the match is concerned, Australia captain Tim Paine elected to bat first after winning the toss in the day-night Test where David Warner provided with a steady start and Steve Smith managed to score just 43 runs. However, theirĀ innings was anchored by Marnus Labuschagne, who scored his third consecutive Test hundred, as Australia put up a huge total of 416 runs in the first innings.
Fast bowlers Tim Southee and Neil Wagner took four wickets each for New Zealand. In reply, New Zealand managed to score 109 with the loss of 5 wickets after 32 overs at stumps and they were still trailing Australia by 307 runs.