Australia batsman Steve Smith says a training breakthrough during a stint in isolation has helped him find his hands again and he is confident his Indian Premier League struggles are behind him as he prepares to face India on Friday. Smith had a relatively quiet IPL in the UAE, scoring 311 runs at 25.91 in 14 matches.

The 31-year-old said he had hardly picked up a bat during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic and then struggled on Australia’s limited-overs tour of England, where he scored 31 runs in three T20 innings.

But back in isolation in Sydney, Smith said he felt like he had found his rhythm and was striking the ball better and able to place it where he wanted. “The past few days I have found something … I have found my hands which I am extremely excited about,” Smith said. “It’s just getting that feel of the bat behind my toe the right way, the way my hands come up the bat. But it just hasn’t quite been right until two days ago. I found a little something and everything just clicked in. I had a big smile on my face after training the other day,” he added.