My time as full-time Test captain is 'done': Smith

Steve Smith has shot down any talk of becoming Test captain again on a full-time basis after leading Australia to a memorable win against India in Indore.

The star batter was filling in as skipper for the third Test after captain Pat Cummins returned home to Sydney last week to be with his seriously ill mother Maria.

Smith, who is Australia's vice-captain, has stepped in as skipper three times since Cummins became Test captain in November 2021.

Cummins intends to return for the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad next week but it will depend on his delicate family situation.

Before the match, Smith declared captaincy brought out the best in him and he was looking forward to the challenge, expressing his sympathy for Cummins at the same time.

The 33-year-old was asked about his captaincy ambitions after Australia's nine-wicket triumph on Friday.

"My time is done. It's Pat's team now," Smith said. "I've obviously been able to stand in this week, obviously in tough circumstances with Patty going home. Our thoughts are still with him back home. 

"But India is a part of the world I love captaining ... it's probably my favourite place in the world to captain. 

"Every ball is an event and therefore can dictate what happens after, which is something that I really love and you've got to be ahead of the game. 

"So I thought I did it well this week and it was good fun."

Smith captained Australia between 2014 and 2018 but was stripped of the honour and banned from playing for a year following the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

His captaincy drew praise from star spinner Nathan Lyon, who hailed Smith's classic, match-defining, catch late on day two.

Smith has had troubles with a degenerative back issue, putting down a number of catches in slips during this series, but he managed a spectacular effort late on Thursday.

The catch was to dismiss the stoic Cheteshwar Pujara, so often Australia's nemesis, when the veteran No.3 appeared to be pushing India towards a handy lead.

Pujara's dismissal for 59 led to India's second innings ending sooner than the hosts had hoped, setting Australia a chase of just 76.

"This is no disrespect to anyone else in that changing room, but I don't think anyone else is catching it," Lyon said.

"That's just me bowling from one end and looking up and seeing Steve Smith at slip or leg slip and having that confidence as a bowler.

"Yes he has dropped a couple here and there but I wouldn't trade him for anyone."

Smith was thrilled to dismiss the dangerous Pujara at a crucial stage.

"Catches in this part of the wold can win or lose you games," he said. "I think back to Bangalore in 2017 I dropped Pujara and then he went on to make a big score. 

"Fortunately this one stuck and we were able to get over the line."

Border-Gavaskar Qantas Tour of India 2023

February 9-13: India won by an innings and 132 runs

February 17-21: India won by six wickets

March 1-5: Australia won by nine wickets

March 9-13: Fourth Test, Ahmedabad, 3pm AEDT

All matches broadcast live and exclusive on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat