Washington Sundar becomes the first Indian bowler to dismiss Steve Smith for his maiden Test wicket

Washington Sundar received his maiden Test cap in Brisbane on Friday (January 15) and made an immediate impact. The right-arm off-spinner bowled three maiden overs and sent Steve Smith back to the dressing room on the first ball of his fourth over.

Washington Sundar built pressure on the opposition batsmen with his dot balls and then almost fired a delivery onto Steve Smith's pads. The Australian batsman hit the ball on the leg-side. Unfortunately, the ball went straight into short mid-wicket fielder, Rohit Sharma's hands as Sundar scalped his first Test wicket.

With this dismissal, Washington Sundar has become the only Indian bowler to pick up Steve Smith's wicket for opening his account in red-ball cricket. Smith is one of the best batsmen of the modern era. Recently, he won the ICC Test Cricketer of the Decade award for his incredible performance in the game's most extended format. Picking up Smith's wicket on debut is thus a remarkable achievement.

Maiden Test scalp for Sundar. Smith who was at 36, flicked it straight into the hands of Rohit at short mid-wicket. 🇦🇺 - 93/3#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #AUSvIND

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) January 15, 2021

Sundar ended his first day in Test cricket with figures of 1/63 in 22 overs. Notably, he bowled three maiden overs on the trot in the beginning. However, he could bowl only one more maiden in his next 19 overs. Still, the Indian fans were impressed with Sundar's bowling performance at The Gabba.

Washington Sundar is not the only bowler to dismiss Steve Smith for his first Test wicket

Keshav Maharaj has also achieved this feat

While Washington Sundar is the first Indian bowler to accomplish this unique feat, four other bowlers in the world can boast of taking Smith's wicket to open their respective accounts in Test cricket.

South African spinner Keshav Maharaj, Pakistan's leggie Yasir Shah, and English pacers Tom Curran and Craig Overton also have Steve Smith as their first Test wicket. Thus, Washington Sundar is the fifth bowler to send the Aussie batsman back to the pavilion before taking any other wicket in Tests.

SUNDAR! 🔥 Smith gone for 36. Hitman with another catch. 3/87 - who saw this coming? 🇦🇺🇮🇳 #AUSvIND

— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) January 15, 2021