Smith and Johnson pick perfect time to reap

To paraphrase Pete Seeger paraphrasing the Book of Ecclesiastes, there is a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to build up, a time to break down. A time to dance, a time to mourn. And a time to jump off the ground and ramp a fast bowler over slips in a Test match. Fortunately for Australia, Steven Smith has a keen sense of timing.

That stroke from Smith off Varun Aaron was the second ball of the partnership that changed this Test. The first was Mitchell Johnson's whip through midwicket for three when Aaron sent down an accurate 143kph yorker. In those two strokes, Johnson and Smith displayed a confidence that should have worried MS Dhoni.

Mitchell Marsh and Brad Haddin had just lost their wickets in the space of six overs. Australia were 6 for 247 in reply to India's 408. It seemed inevitable that India would have a first-innings lead, and very possible that Smith's first Test as captain would be Australia's first loss in a Gabba Test since before he was born.

It still could, but Smith and Johnson swung the odds drastically in Australia's favour. Last year at the Gabba, Haddin and Johnson put together a face-saving, match-winning seventh-wicket stand against England. Now, for the second consecutive Brisbane Test, Australia more than doubled their total from six-down in the first innings. The first six wickets put on 247, the last four made 258.

That suggests its own problems, for a team should no more expect big runs from its bowlers than wickets from its batsmen. In every first innings last summer Haddin rescued the team. A funambulist might have a safety net but still takes care not to fall; Australia's sturdy lower-order can make the top order complacent.

Not Smith, not here. Before the game, Smith said he would move up to No.4 and would try to lead from the front with his own performance. But could he back up his words? Would the captaincy weigh on a 25-year-old? Would his wonderful form be affected by the responsibility?

A captain afflicted by nerves would not ramp an Aaron bouncer over slips. The easy thing would have been to leave the ball alone, for it was too high to be a threat, and might have been a wide. But Smith saw it as an opportunity to score. For a skilled enough batsman, it was actually a high-percentage shot. Smith's mind was clear enough to realise it.

Rarely in recent history has Smith's mind seemed clouded while batting. In Dubai in October he cut a short topspinner from Yasir Shah straight to point. He had entered the series with a set plan to avoid cutting the spinners and visibly chastised himself as he walked off. The sight of Smith doing something silly was startling for its infrequency.

Smith took 347 runs from India before they dismissed him in this series, reminiscent of Steve Waugh's start to the 1989 Ashes in England. On the day Smith turned one week old, Waugh strode to the crease at Headingley and scored the first of 393 runs in that Ashes series before he was finally dismissed.

At the Gabba, Smith followed his Adelaide century with more of the same: classy cover drives, clever glides behind point, whips through leg, a pair of safe sixes over long-on when he used his feet to R Ashwin. The Indians are learning there are few places they can bowl to Smith that are guaranteed safe of runs.

Smith's Adelaide hundred was poignant; he ran to the 408 painted on the outfield and looked to the sky when he reached his ton. Every sense was heightened for the Australians in that match. Here, they spent the first day in the field looking flat, a result of the sapping weather but perhaps also of the emotional comedown.

This time, Smith still remembered Phillip Hughes, but more subtly. There was a quick glance to the sky when he reached 63. When his hundred arrived with a cut for four off Aaron, Smith let out some serious exultation. The precarious match situation, the captaincy, the pressure - this was special for different reasons.

His 133 made him the first Australian to score a century in his first Test as captain since Graham Yallop in 1978. Only nine men have ever done it; the first was Billy Murdoch in 1880. Like Smith, Murdoch was 25 at the time, had evolved into a specialist batsman (originally he was a wicketkeeper) and was known for his quick footwork. He captained Australia on and off for 10 years. Smith might too.

At drinks in the second session, Smith had his left thigh strapped by the physio Alex Kountouris. Team doctor Peter Brukner held a wet towel on Johnson's head. Johnson had a big smile on his face - like the spectators, he was greatly enjoying his innings. He was soon out for 88, but the 148-run stand with Smith had taken Australia to 395 and back into the game.

Johnson had been confident right through his innings. The 11th ball he faced was pulled with such timing and power that the bowler Ishant Sharma had barely finished his follow through when it crossed the boundary. Powerful when slashing and slicing behind point, and when striking down the ground, Johnson's innings was the perfect foil to Smith's touch: two hours of hard swinging.

The crowd was disappointed Johnson missed a second Test hundred, but the importance of his innings was not lost on his captain. Or his other captain. Watching from home while recovering from hamstring surgery, Michael Clarke tweeted: "@MitchJohnson398 what an innings! That partnership could win us the Test Match."

By stumps, India had reduced their deficit and evened things up somewhat. But for 119 minutes while Smith and Johnson batted, the match, as Pete Seeger might have said, turned, turned, turned.