3 times Steve Smith slowed his team down in a T20I match

Steve Smith is the backbone of Australia's batting line-up in red-ball cricket, but many have questioned his worth in the white-ball format, especially in T20s. His numbers in the T20Is have been below par, to say the least.

The next T20 World Cup in June 2024 is set to be played on slow and sluggish West Indies surfaces, and Smith seems determined to grab a spot and help his team tackle the spinners. However, the right-handed batter has often slowed down the Australian innings by going at a strike rate of around 120.

Here, we look at some of the instances when Steve Smith's slow approach in T20s hampered the Australian innings.

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#3 52 off 41 balls against India, Vizag, 2023

Josh Inglis was going bonkers at one end, on a belter of a surface. But Steve Smith never seemed to get going in the Vizag T20, the first in the series against India, on November 23.

Yes, he might have been given the role of anchor, but he never accelerated and consolidated his start to get to a higher SR. That delayed the entry of big hitters like Tim David and Marcus Stoinis, which created a difference of at least 15-20 runs in the total.

Smith did register a half-century, but that came at a comparatively slow rate of 126.83.

#2 46 off 38 balls against India, Sydney, 2020

In the second T20 against India in Sydney, opener Matthew Wade played a blinder, scoring 58 at an SR of 181.25. That gave his side a great platform to try and get past 220 runs.

But Smith's struggles arrested the momentum of the innings. Australia had to recalculate their total as the finishers never got the perfect entry point to work on.

Smith played at almost a run and a ball for his 46 runs and never seemed to get going.

#1 29 off 26 balls, Port Elizabeth, 2020

Chasing 158 on a surface aiding pacers with good but not alarming bounce, Australia lost opener Aaron Finch early on. But David Warner ensured that Australia never got out of sight of the target with his blistering shots in the powerplay.

Steve Smith, who was batting at No. 3, took his time. It seemed like he got stuck once again, as he couldn't get the required boundaries, which slowed down the chase considerably.

His 26-ball, 29-run innings resulted in Australia losing the match by a slender margin of 12 runs.