Cricketers of the Week - February 19th to February 25th

#4 Steve Smith

Smith played some sublime strokes en route to his century

Smith scored one of the most wonderful centuries by an Australian in India on a minefield of a track in Pune, to script a memorable, almost entirely unexpected, 333-run win for his side in the first Test of the four-match series.

Smith, who was given several reprieves, cashed in heavily, scoring 109 in a game in which the second highest individual score in the innings was 31. His innings pushed Australia to 285, setting India an insurmountable target of 441.

Smith also scored a diligent 27 in the first innings before chipping one straight to Kohli. The Australian skipper, who is also the No. 1 ICC Test batsman, deserves plaudits for the way he handled his troops, most of them young in the international arena.