There is a love affair of sorts with Pune as Steve Smith continues to be amongst the runs at his home ground. From hitting a gritty century on a rank turner against the Indian team a couple of months ago to opening his quota with an 84 not out against Mumbai Indians in the first game of the VIVO IPL 2017, Smith has been consistent with his performances and is leading the RPS team from the front.

On Saturdy evening, as RPS shunned all doors on RCB’s chances of making the playoffs with a 61-run victory, Steve Smith once again put up a cameo with the bat and contributed with his spectacular fielding. We at iplt20.com caught up with the RPS skipper straight after the win and found out more about his performances, his relationship with MS Dhoni, his thoughts on the youngsters’ game, and more….

Excerpts:

You have a love affair of sorts with this stadium. A century last season, a century for Australia and you have been among the runs this season too. Thoughts?

It’s a nice place to play. Nice small boundaries and usually a very good wicket to bat on. I’ve had a bit of success here at the MCA stadium and long may that continue.

We have seen you go to MSD for suggestions during play. We know there is a lot of mutual respect. Tell us more about the conversations?

MS Dhoni has been fantastic as he knows the game incredibly well out here. As a wicket-keeper, it is nice to have someone out there who can look at the angles and get them right. He has done that well for us and I’m sure he will continue to make a big impact and help me and the rest of the boys and hopefully have more success in the rest of this tournament.

Tell us a bit more about your relationship with him. You have played under him and now you are captaining him.

It’s pretty chilled out with him. He has been fantastic and has had a few valuable contributions with the bat and he is hitting the ball really well. I think he will come back to great form and have a bigger impact by the end of this IPL. I’m really excited about the next couple of games.

Is he the fastest stumper ever?

Look, he’s incredibly quick behind the stumps and his hands don’t go back at all, they just stay there and collect the ball. He has done that for a very long time now and has done it once or twice for us in this tournament so far and is doing a great job for the team.

Lockie Ferguson’s performance today has created a problem of plenty for you when Ben Stokes is 100 percent. Thoughts?

Ferguson did a great job for us tonight. He came in and bowled beautifully, I think he had 18 dot balls. It’s nice to know we have options and when Ben Stokes is fit, we will see what combination is right on that day and try and pick the best line-up for each opposition and each set of conditions we face.

How pleased are you with Rahul Tripathi's consistency as an opener?

Rahul Tripathi has been playing incredibly well ever since he has gotten the opportunity. He plays his shots early on, he’s a stylish player and certainly a player to watch out for in the future. He has started off beautifully for us and I’m looking forward to seeing his progress in the years to come.

You took that catch out there and you were not too sure about it. What exactly happened there?

(Laughs) I’ve no idea what happened. I’ve gotten myself into a bit of trouble on this trip to India and (do) not (want) anymore of that. So I was relaxed, left it to the Umpires to make their decision and the TV Umpire gave it out in the end as he thought I’d taken the catch.

Lastly, you love experimenting and giving the bench a chance whereas Stephen Fleming is known to stick with the same lot. Thoughts?

I believe we’re pretty much on the same page. We try and pick the best eleven for each game and try and keep things as consistent as we can. We’ve had a few injuries and we have had to re-shuffle, but the guys have been good. It is always tough to be in the squad when you’re not playing, but the guys have helped around the group and it’s nice to see that we have some good characters out there.