NEW DELHI: Steve Smith has broken his silence on the moment that sparked widespread debate during the Sydney derby clash in BBL, where he sent Babar Azam back and refused a single off the final ball of an over.

The incident unfolded during Sixers’ chase of a stiff 190-run target. Smith and Babar were at the crease together and the pair had started positively, looking settled early on. But things took an interesting turn once the Power Surge came into play.

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The Power Surge, a new addition to the BBL, allows the batting side to take a two-over period at any stage after the Powerplay with only two fielders allowed outside the circle. It was at this point that Smith decided to take control.

Babar, meanwhile, struggled to lift his tempo. The Pakistan star once again found it hard to accelerate and his strike rate became a talking point. Sensing an opportunity, Smith denied Babar a single at the end of the over, choosing to keep the strike himself.

Smith stayed on strike and tore into Chris Green in the next over, smashing four sixes in a row in a brutal 32-run assault that completely shifted the momentum of the chase.

Steve reveals the stratgey behind the decision

Speaking to Channel 7, Smith explained that the call was planned and based on match-ups rather than emotions.

“We spoke at the ten-over mark and they, the captain and coach, said take the surge straightaway, I felt it was better to wait an over. I wanted to target the short boundary and didn’t want to mess up the first over. I backed myself to get around 30 off that over and we ended up with 32, so it worked out well.”

Smith also admitted that the decision may not have gone down too well with his batting partner.

“I’m not sure Babar was too happy with me knocking back that single,” he added with a smile.

Meanwhile, in the next over, Babar looked visibly frustrated after the incident, and while walking back to the pavilion, he angrily kicked the boundary line with his bat.

Pakistan players are not having the best time in this year’s BBL, often struggling to strike the ball well. Earlier, we saw Mohammad Rizwan being retired out because he was scoring too slowly. Now, Babar Azam did not take a single due to his inability to strike well in T20 cricket. This is a big concern for top-class Pakistan players like Babar in today’s game.