Steve Smith on Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal with run-out at a crucial stage.

Summary:  Australia’s Steve Smith credited Yashasvi’s dismissal as the turning point for the last session. 

Australia's Steve Smith pointed to a pivotal moment in the last session of play when Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was dramatically run out at the close of the second day in the Boxing Day Test, a potential deciding factor in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. 

Smith described the miscommunication between Jaiswal and Virat Kohli as a "huge play" that swung the momentum squarely in favor of Australia.“It looks like Jaiswal called ‘yes' and ran and Virat sent him back. It is as simple as that,” Smith noted after the day's play concluded. 

“It was a really good partnership to break that one and then obviously get two more wickets. It was a huge last hour for us, so, yeah, that was a big play in the context of the day, I suppose.”

The dramatic turn of events unfolded as Jaiswal, standing on 82, sought a swift single after connecting with a shot directed at Pat Cummins stationed at mid-on. However, Kohli remained fixed at his end, leaving Jaiswal fragile. Cummins delivered a flawless throw to Alex Carey, leading to a pivotal run-out. This dismissal ignited a sudden decline for the Indian side.

Jaiswal's aggressive strokeplay and Kohli's calm innings had been the cornerstones of India's response to Australia's score. After the initial defeats, the pair were ready to bounce back, moving India from 53/2 to 153/2. 

But after Jaiswal's runout, Scott Boland struck twice in a short time, dismissing nightwatchman Akash Deep for a duck and Kohli for 36.

Steve Smith said, “So at that stage, we'd probably take (either one) of them. (It was) just fortunate, I suppose. And sometimes when you have one of those things happen and you break a partnership, you can get that other guy out quickly and that happened today, which was good for us.”

“It was just fortunate. Sometimes when you break a partnership, you can get the other guy out quickly. That happened today, which was good for us.