Steven Smith admitted that he believed he had edged a delivery from Ebadot Hossain during the opening session of the first day in Darwin, though he was ultimately saved by a flat line on the Decision Review System (DRS). The incident occurred in the 21st over shortly before lunch, when Smith pushed at an Ebadot delivery. Bangladesh players appealed immediately, but umpire Kumar Dharmasena shook his head. Following a review called by Najmul Hossain Shanto, Smith began walking off the field, only to be granted a reprieve when the replay showed no spike on the technology.
Reflecting on the moment, Smith acknowledged his fortune. When asked if he had nicked the ball, he replied, "I think so, yeah. I was lucky? Yeah, it seems that way. You got to take it sometimes." This event follows past controversies surrounding the Real-Time Snicko technology in Australia, which have previously faced scrutiny over audio and image synchronization issues, though this specific instance involved a flat line.
The lucky break was part of a challenging start to the innings for Smith, who later confessed to Fox Cricket that he had initially struggled to hold his bat properly for the first 30 balls. He had also been given an earlier life on 2 when he was dropped low at third slip by Tanzid Hasan. Despite these difficulties, Smith eventually settled in to become the only Australian batter to provide a substantial contribution, finishing with 71 runs as the home side was bowled out for 198. His innings finally ended when he was caught by Hasan Mahmud while attempting a shot with Nathan Lyon at the other end. Bangladesh remains the only Test-playing nation against whom Smith has not yet scored a century, marking this as only his third appearance facing them.
Steven SmithEbadot HossainBangladeshAustraliaAustralia vs BangladeshBangladesh tour of AustraliaICC World Test Championship
