Steve Smith turns 31: Australian star batsman's most acrobatic catches ever; watch video

Former Australian captain Steve Smith celebrated his 31st birthday on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. Having started his career as a leg-spinner, Smith worked on his game and has established himself as one of the greatest batsmen of his generation during the decade. While the Rajasthan Royals star continues to be a solid rock in the Australian batting lineup across all formats, he is also widely regarded as one of the best catchers and fielders in the world. On the Steve Smith birthday occasion, Cricket Australia's website shared a video compiling the best of his catches, including those against the likes of Rohit Sharma and Kane Williamson. 

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Steve Smith birthday: Rajasthan Royals captain's best catches ever ft. Rohit Sharma and Kane Williamson

cricket.com.au's Steve Smith birthday video is a compilation of the Australian's best catches on home soil. One of the most skilful and agile fielders in the world cricket at the moment, the complication featured some of Steve Smith best catches at the point and the slips, including those to dismiss some of his batting counterparts such as Rohit Sharma and Kane Williamson. The video first featured a catch by Smith at point taking a blinder to dismiss New Zealand's wicket-keeper BJ Watling. Steve Smith's affinity towards pink stood out, with many catches taken in a pink ball Test. While Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson stood out as notable dismissals, Steve Smith took blinders to dismiss Asad Shafiq, Dawid Malan, Travis Birt and Azhar Ali. 

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Steve Smith Birthday: Steve Smith's Australia career at a glance

While Steve Smith was earlier selected a leg-spinner in the Australian team, he established himself as one of the finest batsmen for Australia in recent years. In 73 Tests, Smith has amassed a whopping 7,227 runs at an astounding average of over 62 and is the fastest to the 7k run mark. In his comeback since the ball-tampering scandal, Smith scored a staggering 774 runs in the 2019 Ashes, becoming the first player to score 500+ runs in 3 consecutive Ashes series while becoming the 1st batsman to score 10 consecutive 50+ scores against the same opposition. Generally branded as a Test specialist, Steve Smith boasts of an ODI record of 4,162 runs in 125 matches, at an average of 42. In T20Is, Smith has scored 681 in 39 matches at an average of 29.60 and a strike-rate of 130.71.

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